Dodstin Clarke, age 45 years, a driver of Lot 49 Middle Street, McDoom, EBD, and Lindon Rudder, a 63-year-old miner of Lot 5 McDoom Public Road, EBD, were charged yesterday with the possession of narcotics.
The two men were charged jointly with the offence of Possession of Narcotics for Trafficking.
Yesterday, they appeared at the Bartica Magistrate’s Court before Magistrate Crystal Lambert, where they pleaded not guilty to the charge and were remanded to prison. The matter will be called again on 22nd September, 2023.
The police had said that around 1.30 on Wednesday afternoon, police ranks on mobile patrol at Itaballi Landing, Lower Mazaruni River, observed a grey motor van bearing registration number GTT 2796 proceeding in the opposite direction. The police said in a statement that the van’s owner, Clarke was driving the vehicle.
The ranks instructed the driver to stop the vehicle, which he did. The vehicle had two other occupants: Rudder and Albert Griffith, a 63-year-old seaman of Middle Street, McDoom, police said.
The ranks searched all the occupants and their personal belongings. A further search was carried out on the motor vehicle, and located in the vehicle’s tray was a bag containing five bulky parcels, two of which were wrapped with black plastic and three wrapped with transparent plastic.
The police say that all of the parcels had a quantity of leaves, seeds and stems suspected to be cannabis.
Clarke and Rudder both accepted ownership of the suspected narcotics, the police said. They were cautioned, arrested and escorted to the Bartica Police Station along with the narcotics.
On arrival at the Bartica Police Station, the suspected cannabis was weighed in the presence of the suspects, and it amounted to 3 kg 186 grams.
