Latest update March 21st, 2025 5:44 AM
CJIA technicians remanded for cocaine in rum
Three men were brought before the court yesterday charged with attempting to traffic three bottles of Eldorado Rum laced with cocaine to the United States of America.
Chris Douglas
Chris Douglas, of Timehri; Loric Williams of 57 Prospect, East Bank Demerara; and Keon Brewster, 21 of Joseph Pollydore Street, Lodge; pleaded not guilty to a drug trafficking charge after it was read to them by Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry.
The charge alleged that on May 29, at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) Timehri, they had 6.3 kg of cocaine in their possession.
Police Prosecutor, Corporal Bharrat Mangru, told the court that Douglas is an American citizen.
He said that on the day in question, Douglas was an outgoing passenger on a Dynamic Airways flight, destined for John F. Kennedy Airport, USA.
Mangru revealed that a routine check was conducted on the defendant and three bottles of El Dorado Rum were found in his hand luggage.
The rum was probed because the contents of the bottles seemed thicker than usual.
The substance in the bottle tested positive for cocaine.
As a result, Douglas was arrested and told of the offence. He later implicated the two other defendants. The police then reviewed CCTV footage from the airport, which showed Brewster and Williams leaving the washroom area acting in a suspicious manner.
Mangru also stated that the defendants provided the police with caution statements admitting to the offence.
Attorney, Latchmie Rahamat made a bail application on behalf of Williams. She argued that during investigatios the police forced her client to sign a statement. The lawyer contended that the accused has no knowledge of the alleged narcotic.
Rahamat explained that Douglas provided the police with a statement, which they demanded that her client sign. She asserted that the accused has an unblemished criminal record and at the time of his arrest he was employed as an air-conditioning technician at the CJIA.
Douglas’s attorney, Nigel Hughes, requested that his client be released on reasonable bail because he has no knowledge of the alleged cocaine. He too contended that his client has an unblemished criminal record.
However, the prosecutor objected to bail because the special reasons advanced by both attorneys were not enough to satisfy the court.
Investigations are still ongoing in this matter.
The trio was remanded to prison until June 16, for reports and fixtures.
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