Arguing that they pose a real risk of flight, the police almost a month later have not released the two Brazilian men who were granted bail on charges of illegal entry and being busted with close to 1,000 pounds of cocaine, which investigators says were found when their plane crash-landed at Orealla back in May.
In fact, the Guyana Police Force (GPF) is asking the High Court to revoke the $3 million bail each, which was granted to Salem Nobrega De Alencar, 64, and Andre Luiz Pereira, 31.
The two Brazilians on Monday moved to the High Court through Habeas Corpus proceedings to secure their release, but their application was yesterday morning denied by Justice Sandil Kissoon after Attorney General, Anil Nandlall SC asked that the police’s case seeking judicial review of the Magistrate’s decision to grant bail be first determined.
While they had initially been remanded to prison, Magistrate Alex Moore on July 22nd granted the men their pretrial liberty after their second court appearance, and adjourned the matter to September 23rd.
Being foreign nationals, however, the GPF is contending that the two defendants pose a real/serious risk of flight.
Through the affidavit of Detective Sergeant Mark Fraser, the police surmised that it may have been Pereira’s complaint to Magistrate Moore of purportedly contracting the coronavirus and being assaulted by other prisoners that led to bail being granted.
De Alencar also claimed that he had been assaulted by inmates.
Fraser deposed that the prosecution drew to the Magistrate’s attention that neither claims made by the men had been supported by a medical or other evidence, and that bail ought not to be granted on those grounds.
The state has pointed out that Section 94 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psy-chotropic Substances (Control) Act prohibits the grant of bail unless there are special reasons for doing so which must relate to the offence and not the offender.
The police are contending that “no such special reasons in law were proffered,” while adding that those cited by the defendants were irrelevant to the consideration for a grant of bail.
Regarding the charge of illegal entry with which the men have also been slapped, the lawmen are arguing that to have released the two on bail without any lawful status in Guyana, places them in a position of perpetual breach of the Immigration Act.
For those reasons, the police have said that the men remain in custody, citing that if released not only will they pose a risk of flight, but will continue to violate the Immigration Act.
It was because of their continued incarceration that Pereira and De Alencar filed the Habeas Corpus proceedings.
The police in their application are contending that Magistrate Moore’s decision to grant bail was among other things unreasonable, an abuse of power, and improper in exercising his discretion. They argue, too, that the Magistrate acted “in bad faith and/or for an improper purpose and/or took into account irrelevant considerations.”
Investigators are contending that the matter raises “serious issues of law” and is “of grave public importance,” even as they further describe Magistrate Moore’s actions as unlawful, capricious, and arbitrary.
The police go on to hold that in the interest of justice, they should be granted the Order of Certiorari being sought to quash the Magistrate’s decision of admitting the defendants to bail on both charges; and also for a Conservatory Order staying and/or suspending the decision until their application is fully heard and determined
They state is also seeking costs and any further Order the Court may deem just to grant.
During yesterday’s hearing before Justice Kissoon, Nandlall who represents the police, argued that that the defendants should remain in custody until the hearing and determination of the judicial review challenge filed by the police to Magistrate Moore’s grant of bail.
According to the AG in a press statement following the hearing, he emphasized that the challenge to Magistrate Moore’s decision was unprecedented and raises matters of public legal importance.
Against this background he said that in the interest of the public, the issues raised by the police need to first be fully ventilated and adjudicated upon; while adding that in those circumstances, justice would be best served if the Magistrate’s Order was suspended and the defendants remain in custody until the police’s case is heard and determined.
He said that the Court must first be allowed to pronounce upon the legality of Magistrate Moore’s Order granting bail.
That application has not yet been fixed for hearing.
Justice Kissoon granted the police an interim Order staying and suspending Magistrate Moore’s order until the police’s case would have been determined.
Additionally, the judge discharged a Nisi Order he had made on Monday in the Habeas Corpus application directing the Commissioner of Police to show cause why the defendants should not be released from custody.
De Alencar and Pereira were charged with illegal entry and trafficking 453 kilogrammes of cocaine.
At their arraignment, they had pleaded not guilty to both charges and were remanded after police prosecutor, Inspector Orin Joseph, objected to bail on the basis that the two provided video evidence that the aircraft belonged to them.
Against that background, Joseph said that they were considered flight risks.
On May 20th, police discovered the cocaine after the foreign-registered aircraft, a four-seater Bonanza Beechcraft, crashed-landed in the Orealla savannah just before 2pm. The two men were immediately arrested after the discovery was made.
They had told residents of the riverine community that they were visiting the area for leisure but started to experience some mechanical issues in the air causing their fuel to run out and forcing them to crash-land in the area. But residents became suspicious and immediately contacted the local ranks stationed in the area, who questioned the men and conducted a search of the aircraft during which the cocaine was discovered.
The initial search of the aircraft was carried out by divisional ranks, after which the force’s SWAT team, the GDF, and CANU, were mobilised and dispatched to the scene from Camp Ayanganna aboard the GDF’s Bell-412 helicopter.
A statement by the Guyana Police Force said that a thorough search of the aircraft was conducted and a total of 453 packages containing 453 kilogrammes of suspected cocaine were found, along with 2 GPS devices, 1 radio set, 3 mobile phones, 2 identification cards, and the aircraft’s registration documents.
