Reyon Williams, 33, a driver, of Lot 133 Guyhoc Park, George-town; and Andrew Fraser, 56, a fibre optic technician of Lot 760 La Parfaite Harmonie, West Bank Demerara and Atlanta, Georgia, USA, appeared yesterday at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court before Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus where they were jointly charged with trafficking in firearms and trafficking in ammunition.
They were arrested after the discovery of a large cache of firearms and ammunition in a barrel at the GNSC (Guyana National Shipping Corporation) wharf on Friday November 17. Fraser’s name and address were listed as ‘sender’ on the barrel, which was addressed to Williams at his Guyhoc Park, Georgetown address.
The guns found in the barrel include: one G2 Taurus 9mm pistol without serial number; one G3 Taurus 9mm pistol with serial number ADH 549002; one Glock 23 pistol with serial number BVLC 388; one Glock 40 pistol with serial number BELW 511; one Roebuck Quad-Lock 9mm pistol without serial number; one Glock 19 pistol with serial number CBFX 596; one G3 Taurus pistol with serial number ADH 547678; one Luger 9mm pistol without serial number; and one Radical Firearms RF-15 5.56mm rifle with serial number 23065794.
Both Williams and Fraser pleaded not guilty to the charges.
In their bail application, their attorneys claimed that the accused had no previous brushes with the law and that no reason was given by the prosecution to deny them bail. Andrew Fraser’s attorney argued that the prevalence of the offence and things surrounding were not sufficient for the refusal of bail for his client. And concerning Fraser being deemed a flight risk, his attorney explained that he had already submitted his passport to the court. Defence counsel also argued that Fraser had only admitted to sending a barrel containing food items, and that the police used Fraser’s phone to decipher the evidence. As such he denounced any evidence that the prosecution had whether that be written or oral.
Meanwhile, Reyon Williams’ attorney revealed that his client was contacted by Laparkan and told that he was required to visit the wharf in relation to a package containing a firearm. Upon his arrival he was shown an opened RAD (Radical Firearms RF-15 5.56mm rifle) on a table already purportedly taken from a barrel
The attorney also stated that a search of the barrel was not conducted in his clients’ presence. He too argued that the seriousness of the offence was not sufficient for the refusal of bail and that at all times his client maintained his denial of knowledge of the RAD.
Further, he told the magistrate that the photographs and conversations between the two defendants were a crucial component and that the prosecution should have presented them in court today. He too attempted to assure the court that his client was not a flight risk and would accept any conditions imposed with bail.
After hearing the arguments from both sides, the magistrate decided that the prosecution’s objection to the granting of bail based on the seriousness and prevalence of the offence was sufficient, and as such, bail was denied.
Williams and Fraser were both remanded to prison until their next scheduled court appearance on December 6.
