A 59-year-old man was yesterday remanded to prison after his denied ownership of $21m worth of cannabis which was allegedly found at his West Ruimveldt, Georgetown house earlier this week.
Bryan Wharton of Lot 604 West Ruimveldt Housing Scheme, Georgetown appeared before Chief Magistrate, Ann McLennan at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court.
He pleaded not guilty to the charge which stated that on October 17, he had in his possession 22.8 kilograms of cannabis for the purpose of trafficking.
Wharton was represented by attorney Bernard DaSilva who begged the court to consider reasonable bail. He said his client is not a flight risk.
According to DaSilva, Wharton was not in the house but was in the vicinity of his residence when the raid was carried out and the narcotics were unearthed.
He said Wharton lives in a shack which is accessible to everyone and at the time of the discovery, a number of other persons were present at the location.
However, bail was refused and the matter was adjourned to November 18 for disclosure.
Wharton was arrested on Monday after ranks of the Customs Anti-Narcotic Unit (CANU) conducted an operation at his home and discovered eleven parcels of suspected cannabis.
He was escorted to CANU headquarters where the narcotics tested positive for cannabis. It carries a street value of approximately $21M (approximately USD $102,000), CANU said.
