At the Leonora Court yesterday, Magistrate Rushelle Liverpool adjourned the matter involving four men charged with trafficking in 84.9 kilos of cocaine at Zeelugt, East Bank Essequibo, to September 13 and 14.
The men, Sherwayne De Abreu, 35, of Liliendaal, East Coast Demerara; motorcycle racer, Stephen Vieira, 33, of Middle and Cummings Sts, Georgetown and motor-racers, Tazim Gafoor, 45, and his son, Nazim Gafoor, 20, of Windsor Forest, West Coast Demerara were charged jointly with the offence.
Reports are that between March 1 and May 12, 2017 at Zeelugt, East Bank Essequibo they had in their possession 84.9 kilos of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking and aided one Hackeem Mohamed.
Only Vieira and Nazim who were granted bail in the High Court were present.
De Abreu and the older Gafoor were unable to attend due to the prison unrest that caused the prisoners to be relocated to different areas.
Attorneys-at-Law, Nigel Hughes, Latchmie Rahamat and Everton Singh-Lammy intended to apply for bail for their respective clients, given the situation with the prisons.
The matter is being prosecuted by the Customs Anti-Narcotic Unit (CANU) attorney, Konyo Sandiford.
The cocaine, which carried a street value of over $550M, was reportedly stashed in dressed lumber at a sawmill at Lookout, East Bank Essequibo, belonging to Narine Lall, who an arrest warrant had been issued for.
Reports are that a truck was hired to pick up and transport the lumber from Lall’s Sawmill to a wharf at Georgetown.
On May 12, CANU conducted a raid and found the drugs concealed in dressed lumber at Mohamed’s premises at Zeelugt.