Canter truck driver is second person charged in coke-in-fish case

Feb 15, 2018 News

Baldeo Persaud

Five days after a Goed Fortuin, West Bank Demerara, businessman was charged and remanded to prison for trafficking cocaine in frozen fish, the driver of the Canter truck which was allegedly used to transport the narcotics, has also been charged.
Baldeo Persaud, 32 , of 47 Kingston Street, ‘C’ Field, Leonora, West Coast Demerara, was yesterday slapped with a trafficking of narcotics charge. It is alleged that on February 6 at Laparkan Cargo Shed at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri (CJIA) he trafficked 9.366 kilograms of cocaine.
Persaud appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts and denied the charge after it was read to him.
The defendant was represented by attorney-at-law Bernard DaSilva, who in his application to secure bail for his client told the court that his client was the driver of the Canter truck that allegedly took the shipment of fish to the airport.
The lawyer further stressed that the Canter truck is not owned by his client and that he was contracted and paid $5,000 for his service on the day in question.
The lawyer added that his client’s name does not appear on any documents that can attach him to any knowledge of the content of the cargo. However, Custom Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) prosecutor Konyo Sandiford strongly objected to bail being granted.
The prosecutor said that the defendant and six others were arrested and taken to CANU following the discovery of the narcotics. They were all released, but the defendant was rearrested after CANU ranks saw several telephone messages between the defendant and Amir Ally who was previously charged for the same offence.
Sandiford told the court that when Persaud was invited back to CANU, he gave ranks a confession statement to which he signed his name.
Bail was refused and the defendant was remanded to prison. He was instructed to make his next court appearance on March 7.
Last week, Amir Ally, 30, of Goed Fortuin, West Bank Demerara was also charged with the offence.

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