Magistrate Sunil Scarce remanded a 33-year-old self-employed man charged with abducting a man and for possession of 83 and a half grammes of narcotics when he on Tuesday appeared in court.
The Wakenaam Magistrate’s Court heard that on August 26, Elbert Stephen of Lot 136 Nightingale Street, Anna Regina abducted 18-year-old Ricardo Manchal who is unemployed.
According to the police facts, around 10am Stephen, along with two other men went to Manchal’s Anna Regina home in a white car and forcibly removed him from his premises. The alleged victim told police that Stephen accused him of stealing money from his home, physically abused him and then put him into the trunk of the car. Before the car drove off, Manchal said he was taken out of the trunk and placed into the back seat and the driver of the car was instructed to drive to the burial ground.
However, the police were tipped off and Stephen released Manchal who then reported the incident. He also allegedly told police that he bought marijuana from Stephen.
Manchal allegedly said that he went to Stephen’s home on August 23 to buy $500 worth of marijuana but saw Stephen sleeping. He said he waited until the man awoke, bought the drugs and then left. Manchal then alleged that Stephen abducted him on August 26.
As a result of what Manchal related to them, the police were granted a search warrant and a search was conducted at Stephen’s home where a transparent plastic bag containing a quantity of leaves, seeds and stems suspected to be cannabis were found. The item was weighed and amounted to 18 grammes. Police also found another plastic bag containing leaves, seeds and stems suspected to be cannabis which when weighed amounted to another 65 1/2 grammes. A total of 83 1/2 grammes of cannabis was found at Stephen’s home. The man was then arrested.
When he appeared in court, Stephen was not required to plead to the charge of abduction and he pleaded not guilty to the charge of possession of narcotics for the purpose of trafficking.
Police Prosecutor Haimwant Ramsewak objected to bail and bail was refused by the magistrate.
Stephen, who appeared unrepresented in court was remanded to prison until September 17 when the matter will be called again.
