Businessman and wife in ganja bust remanded

A businessman and his reputed wife were remanded to prison on Tuesday when they appeared before acting Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry for the marijuana found in the trunks of Madza RX8 cars last week.
41-year-old Kurt Brown and 34-year-old Rushelle Gordon of Lot 45 Norton Street, Lodge, Georgetown, both pleaded not guilty to the possession of narcotics for the purpose of trafficking charge.
The charge alleged that on March 9 at the above address, they were in possession of 158 pounds of cannabis for the purpose of trafficking.
Superintendent of Police, Burgette Grant, related to the court that the police were conducting a raid around Georgetown when they received certain information, hence they went to the defendant’s home where they conducted a search on the three motor cars owned by Brown and a quantity of leaves, seeds and stems suspected to be cannabis were found in the trunks of all three cars. The two defendants were arrested and taken to the Brickdam Police Station where the narcotics were weighed. After further investigations, they were charged.
Attorney Peter Hugh representing Brown told the court that his client is the owner of “Cocoa-Tea Auto Sale” and does not have sole access to the vehicles, and this is a special reason for bail. He added that his client was not in possession of the keys and there is no evidence to support that he was in possession of the narcotic.
The attorney revealed that the two defendants and two other females were taken into custody.
Meanwhile Gordon was represented by Attorney Latchmie Rahamat, who stated that her client has four children and is currently five months pregnant and despite living in the same yard, she and Brown no longer share a relationship.
The attorney added that her client has no connections to the auto business nor does she have access to the property where the narcotics were found.
The prosecutor informed the court that Gordon was the one who had the keys to the vehicles. Superintendent of Police Grant then objected to bail on the grounds that no special reasons were proffered to the court and that the defendants may not return to court if they are granted bail.
The magistrate indicated that she is not inclined to grant bail hence she denied the defendants their pretrial liberty and transferred the matter to Court Five for May 2.
According to reports, on Saturday last, a quantity of compressed marijuana was discovered in the three Mazda RX8 sports cars which indicated that they were being prepared to be shipped. Immediately after the discovery, the three cars were towed to the East La Penitence Police Station.
Police spokesman, Ivelaw Whittaker, told Guyana Times International that the police conducted a cordon and search operation in Georgetown, during which they unearthed a total of 78 kilograms of compressed marijuana concealed in the trunks of three motor vehicles at a residence.