A West Coast Berbice man and his son charged with being in possession of illegal fuel were granted bail in the sum of $200,000 each when they appeared at the New Amsterdam Magistrate’s Court on Friday before Magistrate Chandra Sohan.
It is alleged that on February 8, 2007 Lendrick Ramadwar, 41, of Saga Street, Bath Settlement and his son Steven Ramadwar, 21, of Cotton Tree Village transported fuel in a quantity exceeding 2,000 litres without having a transport licence issued by the Guyana Energy Authority (GEA).
The two were also charged with being in possession of illegal diesel which did not contain the marker in the required proportion as determined by the GEA.
They also had in their possession 498 gallons of diesel reasonably suspected to be stolen or illegally obtained. According to the police, the men did not give a satisfactory account of how they got the diesel.
Lendrick Ramadwar was slapped with a further charge of being in possession of an unlicenced wooden vessel – 50 ft by 10.5 ft on the same day in the Berbice River.
Attorney-at-law Jia Singh attached to the GEA informed Magistrate Sohan that she did not wish to oppose bail but requested that the bail be in a substantial amount.
Defence counsel Mursaline Bacchus submitted that Lendrick trades between the West Indies and Guyana and this is the first time he was charged with an offence. He said his client is married and has three children, the youngest being 12-years-old.
He argued that according to the law bail must not be excessive and must be in the reach of the defendants. The lawyer also requested an early date since the vessel is still being held.
The men who pleaded not guilty to the charges are scheduled to return to court on March 23.
