–arrest halted plan to set up resort
Drug convict David Narine had built a ‘mansion’ and a guest house and was in the process of developing a resort near Shell Beach in Region One shortly before he was held and convicted in St Martin on drug trafficking charges.
Since then, the land he had purchased from a Region One (Barima/Waini) resident, has been left idle.
Stabroek News has been reliably informed that Narine, who earlier this month was sentenced to time served after he pleaded guilty to drug trafficking in a US court, had big plans for the land in the Almond Beach area — located a short distance from Shell Beach.
“He was going to build some kind of a resort with a guest house and construction had already started,” a knowledgeable source told this newspaper.
Sources told Stabroek News that this kind of business in that area would have been convenient for Narine’s drug trafficking activities as it is not far from the border between Guyana and Venezuela, which has long been pinpointed as the key transshipment point for drugs.
“It is just about seven to six hours drive from the border,” another source told this newspaper.
Interestingly, according to reports, Narine had plans to expand the business offshore and persons in the area became suspicious that he may have been involved in illegal activities.
One resident said that when Narine, whose lawyer had argued that his client was only pushed into drug trafficking after he had borrowed money from Peter Morgan and could not repay, was eventually arrested in St Martin no one was surprised.
According to reports, Narine had already started clearing a pathway to build a road leading to the location but he ran into trouble with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which had issued a directive for him to cease work as he was cutting down mangrove trees in the process.
After he was arrested in St Martin, a watchman was left to guard the land and according to reports that man remains there even though he has not been paid in years. However, reports are that he is paying himself by reaping coconuts from the huge coconut plantation that was part of the sale of land to Narine by an elderly resident of Kumaka in the same region.
Santa Claus
Meanwhile, residents of Kumaka, also in Region One, told Stabroek News that Narine had just “suddenly” appeared in the area and soon become known as the Santa Claus of the area.
He was given that name because he would charter the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Skyvan and take in clothes and foodstuff which he would distribute free to residents.
“He did it like four times as far as I know and people used to wonder where this man getting all the money from and how he could do this,” one resident said, but added that persons collected the items because they were in need.
In addition, residents said, Narine would also take in boat-loads of clothing and other items and sell them cheaply to others who would then re-sell.
“He used to sell them very cheap and the other business people did not stand a chance,” another resident said.
The man had also quickly erected a “mansion” in the area where he lived with his wife and children.
Dilapidated
A guest house was also built and according to residents it is still being operated by some of Narine’s relatives. The ‘mansion’, though somewhat dilapidated, is also still occupied.
It is believed that the Narines set up shop in the Region One area in 2001 after they re-located to Guyana from Trinidad.
Narine’s wife, Susan, who is awaiting sentencing in the US, had testified at one of their co-accused’s trials that she and her husband had begun trafficking in narcotics to the US from Trinidad in August 2001.
Susan Narine had told the court at the trial of another person, Hung-Fung Mar, that months after they started trafficking they re-located to Guyana after Mar, who had joined their ring, was arrested in Trinidad. Mar was eventually freed in Trinidad but was subsequently nabbed by the US authorities. However, unlike her co-accused she refused to plead guilty and was found guilty in 2007. She is currently attempting to have her conviction overturned based on insanity claims but may be sentenced soon.
According to Susan Narine, Mar recruited couriers for them in Trinidad by placing classified advertisements in newspapers. The advertisements sought individuals with valid US visas who were interested in travelling to the United States for housekeeping or nursing jobs. When an individual responded to the advertisement, Mar would interview them over the phone and then arrange for them to travel to Guyana to meet the Narines.
“Susan Narine also testified that, during the course of the conspiracy, the couriers generally transported between one half of a kilogramme and five kilogrammes of cocaine on each trip to the United States,” court documents revealed.
Narine, who had played a key role in the arrest of Morgan, had argued through his lawyer hours before he was sentenced that he only became involved in drugs as a means to repay a debt. He had been in the US prison since 2003, shortly after he was extradited from Guadeloupe where he was serving his St Martin seven-year sentence, and was expected to be one of the main prosecution witnesses had Morgan’s case gone to trial.
A sobbing Morgan was sentenced to ten years in prison one week before Narine, months after he had pleaded guilty in a New York court to conspiracy to traffic in drugs.
His lawyer had said that Narine’s prosecution was well publicised here and it was suggested that he was cooperating with the US government. “There came a time when his children were confronted [in Guyana where they were pretty much self-sufficient on their own] by an individual thought to be associated with the drug lords for whom David worked,” the lawyer had said. The confrontation was of such a serious magnitude, it was stated, it prompted the US government to spirit the children out of the country that very weekend and they have been in the US since.
In 2003, Narine was charged along with his wife Susan, his brother William and his sister-in-law Savitree. William was sentenced to time served last year and his wife was given a similar sentence in 2005.
David and William Narine also testified against Mar. William said Mar sent persons to his apartment in New York to drop off packages.
Before he pleaded guilty, Morgan had singled out David and Susan Narine for special mention and had charged in court documents that they were the real drug traffickers and that he was innocent. In a letter last year, Narine had told the judge that he had done everything within his power to assist the federal government in “what they have requested.”
Like most of his co-accused in the case, the majority of the documentation is under seal so it is not clear what other assistance–barring information on Morgan and testimony against Mar–he provided to the government. In his letter, Narine told the judge that he had been incarcerated since 2003 and that his wife, Susan and children were suffering and unable to visit with him. “I am confused as to why I haven’t been sentenced regarding the matter of the alleged charges against me…” he had said.
Narine had also said he was “truly sorry for the great mistakes I’ve made in my life and I have been utilizing my time wisely in an attempt to prevent any future violations of the law. In doing such, I read and study God’s word on an every day (basis), and have also become the overseer (or pastor) of the church within our unit….”