A 20-year-old taxi driver was yesterday remanded to prison after being arraigned on charges of unlicensed firearms and ammunition possession.
It is alleged that on April 1 at Turkeyen, Michael Khan had in his possession one .40 pistol, one 9mm pistol and 15 live rounds of ammunition without licence.
The defendant who resides at 24 Second Street, Cummings Lodge, East Coast Demerara denied the three charges when they were read to him by acting Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry before whom he appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.
Police Corporal Venetta Pindar in presenting the facts of the case said that on the day in question at about 21:00 hours, the police received certain information about a robbery on D’Urban Street and they responded.
According to Pindar, the police at Turkeyen intercepted the defendant who was at the time driving a car, accompanied by other occupants.
The court then heard from the corporal that the vehicle was searched by the police and the items mentioned in the charge were found behind the driver’s seat.
When asked by the magistrate what happened to the other persons in the vehicle and why were they not in court, Pindar related that they opened fire in the direction of the police and subsequently made good their escape.
The prosecution objected to the accused being admitted to bail, citing that no special circumstances were presented to the court.
Khan was then remanded to prison and his matter was transferred to the Sparendaam Magistrates’ Court for April 8.
City businessman Godfrey Scipio called ‘Saga’ was on Friday night robbed of jewellery and an undisclosed amount of cash by four gunmen who later engaged police in a shootout at Cummings Lodge.
The police arrested the driver of the vehicle, in which weapons and ammunition were found.
Police in a press release on Saturday said that around 21:30 hours they responded to an armed robbery in D’Urban Street and subsequently a man was arrested, a motor vehicle detained, and two firearms along with ammunition and spent shells recovered.
