Three men whom the court heard were under surveillance by the Custom Anti-Narcotics Units (CANU) right before they were banned with nearly six pounds of cocaine were moments ago remanded to prison on a drug trafficking charge.
The men, Deopaul Goorel ,48, a fisherman of 1155 Tushen, East Bank Essequibo; Mohamed Inshan, 47, of Zeelugt, East Bank Essequibo; and Amit Kumar, 41, a machine operator, of Tushen West Coast Demerara, all appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.
They all pleaded not guilty to the charge which stated that, on July 23, 2019 at Parika, East Bank Essequibo, they had in their possession 2.64 kilograms of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking.
Inshan and Kumar were represented by attorney-at-law Damion Dasilva while Goorel was represented by attorney-at-law Siand Dhurjon.
The lawyers all asked that their clients be released on reasonable bail. They all said their clients were not flight risks.
However, facts presented by CANU Prosecutor Narissa Leander stated that, on the day in question, ranks from CANU acting on information were conducting an observation exercise when they saw Goorel handing over the suspected cocaine to Inshan who then handed it over to Kumar. Kumar then placed the alleged drug in a car, the prosecutor said.
The ranks then approached the car and carried out a search and the illegal substance was found in a lunch bag wrapped in a black plastic bag.
The men were then arrested and taken to CANU Headquarters and they were subsequently charged with the offence.
The Prosecutor objected to bail being granted to the defendants on the grounds of the prevalence of the offence and the penalty the charge attracts.
The prosecutor also highlighted the fact that video evidence exists to support the handing over of the drugs.
The Magistrate, after listening to the facts, remanded the men to prison.
They were instructed to make their next court appearance on August 12 at the Leonora Magistrate’s Courts.
