No bail for cocaine-in-pepper sauce suspects

Apr 30, 2019 News

Forty-three year-old Ramaeo Chandrabhan called ‘Chan’ and 30-year-old Andrew Yong were yesterday brought before the court where they were slapped with a charge of trafficking a little over 237 pounds of cocaine in pepper sauce.

Andrew Yong

They both pleaded not guilty to the charge, which alleged that on April 26, last, at Camex Cargo Shed, at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), Timehri, East Bank Demerara, Chandrabhan and Yong trafficked 107.6 kilograms (237.2 pounds) of cocaine.
The men appeared in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts before the Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan.
Attorney-at-law Ganesh Hira represented the number one defendant Chandrabhan. He stated that his client lives at Lot 39 Oronoque Street, Queenstown, Georgetown. He went on to say that the taxi driver is the sole breadwinner for his home, and has three children.

Ramaeo Chandrabhan

The attorney asked for reasonable bail to be granted to his client as there is no clear evidence against him and no

substance was found in his possession.
Yong’s attorney also entered an application for bail to be granted to his client in a reasonable some. The attorney told the court that Yong is also a taxi-driver. Yong’s address was given as Lot 2008 Section ‘C’, Diamond, East Bank Demerara. He stated that the father of three is known as a hard working individual and as such, he has no knowledge of the alleged cocaine or intention to traffic same.
Customs Anti Narcotic Unit (CANU) prosecutor Konya Sandiford, who is representing the state in the matter, objected to bail being granted, based on the quantity of cocaine and

The cocaine was allegedly concealed in these containers

the fact that there are oral statements and telephone recordings that implicate the defendants in the case.
The suspected narcotic was unearthed at the Camex Cargo Shed at Timehri, concealed in a quantity of 15-gallon bottles of pepper sauce slated for export.
She also mentioned that in one of the recordings, the men can be heard boasting about CANU and the police’s inability to detect such crimes. She also indicated that Yong allegedly identified the containers that the substance was found in.
Magistrate McLennan upheld the submission made by the prosecutor and remanded the men to prison until May 15, when they will return to court for statements into the matter.