Four airport workers, who are accused of conspiring to traffic 1.3 kilogrammes of cocaine found aboard a Dynamic Airways flight two weeks ago, were yesterday charged and remanded to prison.
The accused are immigration officers Oral David, 29, of Non Pareil, East Coast Demerara; Orin Parris, 24, of Timehri; Raduskie Wright, 24, of Number 77 New Housing Scheme, Corriverton; and security officer Diane Jackson, 31, of Soesdyke Public Road, East Bank Demerara.
They were denied bail by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan on the grounds that no special reasons were provided to the court for them to be granted their pre-trial liberty.
They each pleaded not guilty to the charge.
A baggage handler at the John F Kennedy International Airport in New York had discovered the cocaine in a small unidentified package in the cargo hold of the plane on February 2nd. It is believed that the drug was smuggled onto the plane by someone who was not a passenger as it was found not in luggage, but by itself in the baggage hold.
Jackson’s attorney, Melvin Duke, told the court that as a security officer, Jackson had the job of checking persons going to and from the plane and that she had not uncovered any narcotics. He also alleged that his client was being used as a scapegoat in the matter.
Wright’s attorney, Glen Hanoman, stated that the accused were charged based on an incomplete investigation and the police do not have admissible evidence that narcotics were seized. He also noted that the charge stems from a parallel investigation in the United States, where the narcotics were uncovered.
The accused have been remanded to prison until their next scheduled hearing on March 10th.
Police had earlier this week issued a wanted bulletin for another airport worker, baggage handler Kennard Stephen De Jonge, of Roraima Airways, which is the ground handler for Dynamic Airlines here.
Police said De Jonge, 33, of Lot 59 BB Eccles Park, East Bank Demerara, was wanted for questioning in relation to the case.