Hours after Salim Bacchus, the remaining accused of four men initially charged over last November’s 82 lb Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) cocaine bust at Skeldon, Corentyne, was freed, the Director of Public Prosecu-tions (DPP) filed an appeal.
In December last year, Bacchus’ three co-accused, Canada-based Guyanese Narayan Jarbandhan, 40, Gary Belgrave, 52, and Leo Hernandez, 44, were freed on a technicality.
Stabroek News was reliably informed yesterday that after Magistrate Fabayo Azore freed Bacchus at the Whim Magistrate’s Court on April 30, the file was immediately transported to George-town and an appeal to the Full Court was filed asking that the magistrate’s decision be reversed or set aside.
All appeals of Magistrates’ Court matters are made to the Full Court.
The DPP has 14 days to file an appeal in the Full Court. Following the filing of the appeal, notices are sent to the presiding Magistrate and the accused in the matter.
One of the lawyers in the matter, Glen Hanoman, yesterday told this newspaper that he is aware that an appeal has been filed.
It was alleged that on November 3, 2011, at Line Path, Skeldon, Corentyne, Berbice; Bacchus, Jarbandhan, Belgrave and Hernandez had in their possession 41.856 kilogrammes (approximately 82 pounds) of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking.
The accused were arrested by CANU officers as they were allegedly about to drop off the drugs, which were reportedly in 40 one-kilogramme parcels stashed in two bags.
They made their first appearance in the George-town Magistrate’s Court shortly after the bust and thereafter the matter was transferred to the Berbice court.
Jarbandhan, Belgrave and Hernandez were freed in December in Berbice, after one of their lawyers, Ramesh Rajkumar, had observed that their names were not on the charge. It was reported that the men’s names were on the case jacket but had mysteriously disappeared from the charge. The lawyer had argued successfully that his clients were never charged but were in fact locked-up wrongfully. In Bacchus’ case, the Magistrate up-held a no-case submission made by his lawyer.
At the time he was charged, Jarbandhan was out on bail pending an appeal of a conviction, after he was allegedly caught in 2009 with 2.553 kilogrammes of cocaine in a false compartment of his suitcase at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri. He was an outgoing passenger headed to Canada. At the time, his address was given as Lot 11 Gordon Street, Kitty and he was described as a clothing trader.
He was found guilty at the Providence Magistrates’ Court on July 16, 2010 for the offence and was sentenced to five years imprisonment and fined $30,000. He had been granted bail in the High Court, pending the determination of an appeal of the verdict.
