The Cuban owner of club in Providence was yesterday remanded to prison after he was charged with trafficking a woman.
Owner of the Bollywood Club Eladio Peraza, 32, of Lot 27 Providence Public Road, East Bank Demerara, yesterday pleaded not guilty to a charge which stated that on January 20, at the club in Providence, he engaged in trafficking in persons, that is to say he harboured a woman for the purpose of sexual exploitation. The charge was read to Peraza by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan in Georgetown. Peraza’s lawyer, Mark Conway, while making a bail application for his client, asked the court that he be released on reasonable bail. The lawyer told the court that though his client is a Cuban national, he has been living in
Guyana for over two years. Conway said that during the two years Peraza started his business and married a Guyanese. The lawyer, while noting that his client has business and family ties in Guyana, said the man is well known since persons of Spanish origin like him would stay at the club’s hotel.
Meanwhile, Police Prosecutor Neville Jeffers objected to bail, citing the nature of the allegations and the fact that the accused is a foreign national.
Jeffers also mentioned to the court that the woman at the centre of the allegations is also a Cuban national. The prosecutor told the court that the police file is complete and he was ready to proceed with the case.
Chief Magistrate McLennan subsequently remanded Peraza to prison until Wednesday, when the trial is expected to begin.
