A 51-year-old man appeared yesterday at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court charged with possession of narcotics for the purpose of trafficking after he allegedly tried to mail two boxes to Canada that were subsequently found to contain icing sugar with cocaine.
The particulars of the charge stated that on March 24 at the Guyana Post Office the accused Lyndon Reece, a father of three, allegedly had 1 kilogram, 228 grams of cocaine in his possession.
The accused of Lot 163 Drive, Enterprise, pleaded not guilty after the charge was read to him by acting Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry.
In narrating the facts to the court, Customs Anti- Narcotics Unit (CANU) Prosecutor Oswald Massiah said that on the day in question the defendant went to the General Post Office on Robb Street, Georgetown. He related that the accused presented two cardboard boxes addressed to Canada.
Massiah added that in processing the transactions, the man presented a Republic Bank statement as his proof of address and a National Identification card, hence the information from the documents was obtained.
The court was told that the man left after he had finished his transactions and the boxes were taken into safekeeping.
On March 26 the packages were taken to the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), Timehri and further checks were made by CANU officers.
The prosecutor related that the parcels were scanned and the illegal substance was discovered. As a result authorities at the post office were notified about the findings and the boxes were opened in their presence. Massiah said further that inside the boxes were packages of icing sugar along with other items. However, he said, the packages of icing sugar when checked revealed that an illegal substance which appeared to be cocaine was concealed there.
The prosecutor said that an investigation was launched to locate the accused but that proved difficult. He noted that the boxes were then lodged at CANU headquarters.
On December 19 the defendant was seen by a CANU officer at Ogle Airport and he was told of the allegation. According to Massiah, the accused was known to the officer because he handled previous transactions with Reece at the post office when he was stationed there.
Stabroek News was told that one of the procedures at the post office is that the customer has to produce a recent proof of address being a bank statement, electricity bill or phone bill. On producing these documents they are photocopied and given to the CANU officers.
Attorney-at–law Mark Waldron who represented Reece made an application for bail. He told the court that his client was returning to Matthew’s Ridge where he seeks employment when the officer approached him. The attorney informed the court that his client was given a “100 percent check” by authorities, including CANU, when he was at the post office and nothing was discovered. He further stated that there must have been a breach from the time the box was left at the post office and the time it arrived at the airport.
He argued that the boxes were thoroughly checked and scanned at the post office but days later the illegal substance was discovered and his client has been brought to court after several months to answer the charge.
The attorney noted also that no effort was made to locate his client when the findings were obtained at the airport.
The magistrate after listening to the bail application made by the attorney said that it is a very serious offence and it should be prosecuted. However she questioned the prosecution on how they would “bridge the gap”, meaning the time the boxes were posted to the time they were intercepted. The court also requested the file from the prosecution to see if statements were taken from the staff and CANU officers.
However, the magistrate later discovered that no statement was in the file. The court stressed that “the prosecution should have evidence before the man is brought to court.”
The magistrate informed the attorney that she was not objecting to bail but she would defer the bail application. The man was remanded to prison and the matter will be called again today.
