Belinda Williams and Gordon Plass were yesterday remanded to prison after they were accused of being responsible for a quantity of cocaine found in ceramic ornaments destined for export.
Williams, 29, of Second Street, Meadowbank and Plass, 53, of Mocha Arcadia, both pleaded not guilty to the charge of possession of narcotics for the purpose of trafficking before Magistrate Fabayo Azore.
According to Prosecutor Stephen Telford, who recused himself from the case as he is well known to Williams, on July 7th, Williams was at the Cheddi Jagan International Air-port, Timehri posting cargo destined for Dublin, Ireland on AmeriJet flight M68130. The 19 pieces containing cocaine were discovered when the articles tested positive for cocaine during a field search performed by the Police Narcotics Branch. Having being told of the offence committed, Williams indicated that she was unaware of the contents of the articles and said that she was given the items by Plass. Plass denied this claim as he said someone gave him the items.
The charge against the duo accused them of being in possession of in excess of two grammes as the exact quantity of the cocaine has not been determined. Teleford explained that the narcotics unit is still in the process of extracting the illegal substance from the ceramic ornaments.
Patrice Henry, who represented Williams, made an application for bail, saying not only was his client a mother of two but she was also pregnant. He reiterated Williams’ claim of being unaware of the contents of the ornaments.
However, Azore announced that Henry had not sufficiently established special circumstances and, as a result, bail was refused for Williams as well as Plass, who was unrepresented. They will return to court on July 28th for trial, during which six witness are set to testify.
