Twenty-seven-year-old Akeem Archer who was recently nabbed by the Customs Anti-Narcotic Unit (CANU) was yesterday remanded to prison when he made his appearance before Principal Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus in the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court.
The charge against Archer, who is a welder of Zeelugt Housing Scheme, East Bank Essequibo (EBE) stated that on March 16th at Lombard Street, Charlestown, Georgetown, he had in his possession 2.332 Kilograms (Kg) of cannabis for the purpose of trafficking. During the court proceedings yesterday, CANU Prosecutor Dominic Bess told the court that at about 16:30hrs last Thursday CANU ranks acting on intelligence went to Lombard Street where they saw the defendant entering the eastern side of a yard with a black and yellow haversack.
The ranks approached Archer and told him of their suspicion. A search was conducted on the said bag and a black plastic bag containing leaves, seeds and stems suspected to be cannabis was found. Archer and the suspected item were escorted to CANU Headquarters where a field test was done and the narcotics tested positive for cannabis, the substance weighed a total of 2.332 kg or 5 pounds with a street value of $400,000.
Additionally, Prosecutor Bess told the court that when the accused was questioned, he told investigators that he was contacted by a man who gave him the bag and told him to take it to a car wash on Lombard Street with which he complied. However, Archer denied the charges and begged for bail. Archer informed the court that he is the sole breadwinner for a family of four children and his common-law wife who is also 6 months pregnant.
However, Principal Magistrate Isaacs-Marcus denied bail based on the prevalence and seriousness of the matter and also that Archer had previously served three-year behind bars and was released only in 2019. He was remanded to prison and the matter was adjourned until April 24th when disclosure is expected to be made.
