Businessman Rovindranauth Rampersaud, allegedly found with an unlicensed gun and ammunition during an early morning police raid yesterday, believes the charges laid against him are the result of his wife.
Rampersaud’s lawyer, Ronald Burch-Smith, told Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court 1 that the couple is going through a divorce and she had threatened to put him in trouble with the police.
During his unsuccessful bid for bail, the lawyer noted that the gun was found during a search that took place at 4am yesterday.
The charges against Rampersaud, 40, is that on January 15, 2015, he had a .380 Taurus pistol and 33 live matching rounds of ammunition in his possession one, without a firearm licence enforced at the time.
Prosecutor Bharat Mangru told the court that police, acting on information received, went to Rampersaud’s home and conducted a search. The firearm and ammunition were found in a closet located in a room. Rampersaud’s wife, Mangru said, denied knowledge of the weapon and the ammunition, while he admitted that they belonged to him. Rampersaud told the police that he applied for a firearm licence 10 years ago and after it wasn’t granted he bought a gun anyway.
Mangru objected to bail based on the seriousness of the offence. He also pointed out that the charge required special reasons to be provided to the court in order for bail to be granted.
Rampersaud was eventually remanded to prison and the matter was transferred to the Vreed-en-Hoop Magistrate’s Court for January 19.
