Latest update November 29th, 2024 1:00 AM
Court orders release of businessman held in connection with narco-submarine
Self Propelled Semi-Submersible vessel
Head of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) James Singh was yesterday forced- via a legal order- to release the Waini River businessman who was detained over the discovery of a semi-submersible vessel in the Guyana jungle two weeks ago.
The man, Michael D’Anrade, was received by his lawyer Glen Hanoman within minutes of the court order being served on the agency’s head. D’Anrade was removed from his home by CANU agents last Friday evening before being transported to the city on Saturday for questioning.
He is expected to return to the anti-narcotics agency this Friday. However, any attempts to detain the man on this occasion will be met with legal applications to the effect of the anti-drug ranks abusing their power.
Hanoman told Kaieteur News yesterday that the court order was necessary for his client’s release since his constitutional rights were being violated. Hanoman said that the ranks claimed that his client was detained for questioning, but the law does not state that his client could be detained beyond the stipulated time in the interest of questioning.
This does not exclude the fact that his client was denied access to his lawyer, Hanoman continued. He argued that his client’s detention was unlawful since there was no evidence that confirms that the vessel was going to be used for drug smuggling.
Even if that was the case, the lawyer said no narcotics were found, so if indeed the ranks are able to find the vessel’s builders, there would be a difficulty in building a case of ‘drug running’ without the drugs.
Hanoman expressed however, that his client has been cooperative with the police despite threats made against him and the alleged assault he suffered during his apprehension in the North West District.
In the document served on Singh, it was noted that CANU is investigating the matter in which no narcotic or represented substance was discovered. Hanoman said that CANU had no reasonable suspicion that his client had committed an offence against the country’s laws. The man was also detained in excess of 48 hours which is not permitted by law.
The application said that the questions being asked are unrelated to the allegation of any criminal offence.
D’Anrade, who operates a large grocery and general store in the Waini River area, was CANU’s hope of gaining information about the owners of the vessel, which they believe is linked to the illegal drug trade.
D’Anrade has denied any link to the vessel or the persons who are associated with it. After initially being denied access to a lawyer, D’Anrade was eventually allowed a brief conversation with his attorney on Sunday.
After waiting to see his client for more than 30 minutes, a man who claimed to be a security guard at CANU told Hanoman that D’Anrade was not at the location.
He later claimed that orders from the US Embassy were that no one was to see the detainee. This proved untrue however, since it was explained that “the guard spoke loosely and was probably joking,” Hanoman said.
D’Anrade owns the largest grocery and general store in the Waini area and is a major supplier to persons operating there. His store is located several miles from where the narco-sub was discovered.
The man apparently told drug ranks that he had dealt with some people who told him that they were building a boat several miles from his location and had sold supplies in the form of ration to them.
CANU had said that based on intelligence from an ongoing investigation, a number of its officials along with Guyana Defence Force Special Forces, Coast Guard and Air Corps, conducted an operation along the Waini River in the North West District and during a search of one of the creeks branching off from the Waini, a blue vessel, later identified as a Self Propelled Semi-Submersible (SPSS) was discovered about two miles in, along with a camp consisting of three structures – including accommodation, workshop area and generator.
The accommodation area had the capacity to house approximately 12 persons.
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