Two of three men charged with the possession of over 12 pounds of cocaine last year were yesterday sentenced to three and a half years in prison after they were found guilty of the crime, while the charge against their co-accused was dismissed after a city magistrate found that he had been none the wiser about the drugs.
Aundre Singh, 57, and Clifford Gouveia, 60, were also fined $11,722,200 after Principal Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus found them guilty of possession of cocaine for trafficking. The third accused, Oneal Charan, was released after the magistrate found him not guilty of the crime.
Last year, the three men were jointly charged with having 5.582 kilogrammes of cocaine (equivalent to 12.3 pounds) in their possession on October 3rd, along the Rupert Craig Highway.
The Customs Anti-Narcotic Unit (CANU) had stated that Singh was the driver of a white Premio, PSS 8977, with Charan as a passenger, while Gouveia was the driver of PLL 5213, who was behind Singh’s vehicle on the highway. After observing the cars, ranks intercepted the transfer of a box containing five suspected bricks of cocaine and beauty soaps between the cars. As a result, the cocaine was intercepted during the transfer.
Following the conclusion of their trial in the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court Three, the magistrate ruled that Charan was merely a passenger of the taxi and had no knowledge of what the box contained. She subsequently dismissed the charge against him.
However, in relation to Singh and Gouveia, she said that evidence strongly indicates that both men had knowledge of the narcotics that were in the box and that it was ready for sale and distribution.
Attorney George Thomas, in a plea of mitigation for Singh, told the court his client is the sole breadwinner for his family of three and has a number of medical conditions. Thomas also asked that the court consider imposing the minimum sentence as his client has only ever been charged once. Attorney Bernard DaSilva, who represented Gouveia throughout the trial, also requested that the court consider handing down the minimum sentence or if possible less given his client’s health conditions.
However, CANU prosecutor Narissa Leander asked the court to impose the maximum sentence, citing the prevalence and seriousness of the offence, and the quantity of the drugs. She also said that no special reason was found to justify imposing a less or minimum sentence.
Before handing down the sentences, the magistrate stated that she took into consideration the prevalence of the offence along with the quantity of the drugs and the effect the drugs have on people who use it.
Singh also faced charges of possession of cocaine, firearms and ammunition.
It was alleged that on October 3rd, at Diamond, East Bank Demerara, Singh had in his possession 6.6 grammes of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking. It was also alleged that on the same date, Singh had in his possession two guns—.32 and .38-calibre weapons— without being the holder of a firearm licence.
He was also charged with possession of 13 rounds of .32 ammunition and eight rounds of 9 mm ammunition. The man denied all the charges.
