Canadian citizen remanded for drug possession

Nov 07, 2008 News

Myron Francis, 27, of Canada, was yesterday remanded to prison after he made his first appearance before Acting Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson.

It is alleged that Francis, on Wednesday, at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport had in his possession 1kg and 590 grams of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking. He pleaded not guilty.

He was represented by attorney at law Mohamed Zafar, who in a bid to secure bail told the court that Francis is an “auto retailer” in Canada.

He added that his client had no knowledge of the drugs that were found. The lawyer further noted that Francis has an unblemished record.

Francis told the court, “Your Worship I was just taking back some shoes for my cousin.” He added that the police came and searched his bags and found the drugs.

“Why would you take shoes from Guyana back to Canada?” The man said that his cousin had forgotten them when he last came to Guyana.

Police Prosecutor Sherwin Matthews, however, objected to bail. He said that no special reasons were given by the defence.

The Prosecutor added that the lawyer should have given these reasons if he wanted bail for his client. Matthews said that he finds it hard to believe that “someone would take shoes from Guyana to Canada”.
The accused is expected to make his next court appearance on November 11.

Narcotic agents who were acting on information intercepted Francis at the CIJA, and they unearthed the illicit substance.

The accused was about to board a Caribbean Airlines Flight, when the scanning machine discovered the drugs in his luggage.