One of the five men charged last year with trafficking over 100 pounds of cocaine and cannabis at Parika, East Bank Essequibo, was yesterday convicted and sentenced to four years in jail, while his co-accused were freed.
Magistrate Rochelle Liverpool, presiding at the Leonora Magistrate’s Court, found Rajendra Persaud, a mechanic of La Bonne Intention, guilty and sentenced him to four years in jail, while Khemraj Lall, Marlon Lawrence, Cleve Thornhill, and Doodnauth Chattergoon heard that there was insufficient evidence against them.
Persaud was also fined $21,048,000 for the possession of cannabis and $28,996,000 for the possession of cocaine.
In delivering the verdict, the magistrate stated that the story told to the court by Persaud failed to prove that he had no knowledge of the drugs. The magistrate added that the court believed that Persaud had knowledge of the narcotics, which were found hidden in gasoline bottles.
It was alleged that the five men trafficked 13.8 kilogrammes (equivalent to 30 pounds) of cocaine and 35 kilogrammes (77 pounds) of cannabis on June 6th, 2018, at Parika.
During the trial, the court heard that Lall, Lawrence, and Persaud had been intercepted with two 15-gallon bottles, with parcels containing cocaine and cannabis allegedly concealed inside. Thornhill and Chattergoon were alleged to have assisted in the delivery of the drugs.
CANU had said it received information regarding a shipment of drugs arriving at Parika from Charity via a speedboat. As a result, officers proceeded to the West Bank of Demerara, where they received additional information about vehicles bearing licence plates PSS 8019 and PVV 7934.
It was further explained that vehicle PSS 8019 was intercepted along the Parika Public Road with Lawrence and Persaud. A search of the vehicle revealed two blue 15-gallon bottles with the bottoms of each cut. They were engineered in such a way that they were secured with wire and covered with brown paste. A further examination of the bottles revealed several packages containing leaves, seeds and stems, suspected to be cannabis, and parcels containing a powdery whitish substance, suspected to be cocaine. The discovery was said to have resulted in the interception of the other vehicle.
During an unsworn statement, Lawrence, a taxi driver, said Persaud had hired him to be taken to Georgetown. He said he later instructed him to drive to Parika, where they picked up the bottles.
Persaud, in his unsworn statement, told the court that though he had contracted Lawrence earlier in the day for a trip to the city, the drive to Parika was his driver’s idea and that he had merely agreed to accompany him to pick up “something” for a friend.
Later, when they arrived at the Parika wharf, he said he saw an Amerindian man and Lawrence stopped the car, got out and opened the trunk. Persaud, who maintained that he was in the back seat at the time, said he did not see what was placed in trunk. He said after Lawrence spoke with the Amerindian, he re-entered the car and quickly drove off.
They were subsequently intercepted by CANU agents. “I have no knowledge of narcotics, no container in the trunk. I did not touch anything; I am a mechanic by profession and I am doing well. I do not need to do anything illegal to support my family,” Persaud told the court.
