The Canada-based Guyanese, held last Friday with a quantity of cocaine in achar and powdered milk, was yesterday remanded to prison after being charged with possession of the drug for trafficking.
The allegation against Shrutikant Persaud, 54, is that on August 8, at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri he had in his possession 7.149 grammes of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking.
Persaud, a painter/zinc fabricator, of 42 Good Bananen Land, East Canje Berbice, denied the charge when it was read to him by Magistrate Ann McLennan at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.
Attorney Paul Fung-a-Fat, who represented the accused, said that he had no special circumstances to advance on his client’s behalf for bail to be considered and requested an adjournment.
No facts of what transpired on the day in question were presented to the court.
However, Oswald Massiah, Special Prosecutor for the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU), told the court that the accused had given investigators Palmyra Village, Corentyne, Berbice as his address, instead of the one he gave to the court.
Fung-a-Fat said that his client owns two properties at the various locations.
Persaud was subsequently informed that he would be remanded to prison and the case was adjourned until September 15.
According to reports reaching Stabroek News, the man was busted on Friday morning with cocaine in his suitcase as he was preparing to board a flight to Canada. He had checked in two pieces of luggage and a subsequent search of them by CANU officials unearthed the drugs.
