Two fishermen jointly charged for possession of $40 million in cocaine for the purpose of trafficking were denied bail when they appeared before Siparia Magistrate Margaret Alert yesterday.
Junior Boyce, 34, of South Oropouche, and Emmanuel Gordon, 21, of Fyzabad, were advised to apply to a judge in chambers for bail and remanded in custody.
Alert said they were denied bail because of the seriousness of the offence and the quantity of drugs involved.
The men were arrested on Saturday after officers of the Southern Division Task Force executed a search warrant at Boyce’s home at Red Brick Trace, South Oropouche.
It is alleged that the police found a yellow compressor in a bedroom in which 25 packets were hidden, each containing a white powdery substance believed to be cocaine.
The compressor and cocaine packets were produced in court and tendered as evidence.
Court prosecutor Sgt Salazar said the drugs weighed 28.86 kilogrammes and the street value had been estimated by police service’s Transnational Organised Crime and Narcotic Unit.
Their attorney, Sade Lee Duprey, who asked the court to grant them bail, said Gordon, who was working at Boyce’s home, had one pending matter for marijuana possession, while Boyce had a previous conviction from several years ago for robbery.
Both men are expected to return to court on November 20.