Businessman charged for Gy$1.5B cocaine shipment found in lumber

Popular businessman Keith King is the third person to be charged in connection with the discovery of the 359 kilograms of cocaine in lumber found in a container at a Soesdyke sawmill back in February.
King, 46, of Lamaha Gardens, Georgetown, appeared before Magistrate Allan Wilson on Monday at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts and pleaded not guilty to the charge of possession of narcotics for the purpose of trafficking.  The charge alleged that between January 25 and February 20, he procured Ramnauth Ragoo to transport pieces of lumber, containing 359.803 kilograms of cocaine, from Grove, East Bank Demerara, to Soesdyke, East Bank Demerara.

Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) Prosecutor Oswald Massiah related to the court that after the cocaine was discovered in the timber two months ago, investigations revealed that the defendant had made arrangements with Ragoo at Houston, Georgetown, and hired him to transport six pieces of timber from Grove to Soesdyke. The prosecutor asked that the defendant be refused bail.
King’s attorney, Glenn Hanoman, in his bail application, stated that there is no evidence against his client and that will come out during the trial. He added that there was a confrontation between his client and the truck driver, during which the latter said the businessman did not hire him. The attorney went on to say that his client was placed on station bail and has been cooperating with CANU.
King was remanded to prison by Magistrate Wilson, who transferred the matter to the Providence Magistrate’s Court for May 7.
On March 26, two other persons were charged in relation to this cocaine find. Raymond Ghanie and Dominic Walsh both pleaded not guilty to the charge, which alleged that they were in possession of 359.803 kilos of cocaine for trafficking between January 25 and February 20.
Special reasons for bail
CANU Prosecutor Donald Downer had objected to bail stating that in matters like these, there must be special reasons for bail to be granted to the defendants. The prosecutor further asked that the defendants be held in CANU custody, since harm may come their way.
Attorneys Mark Waldron and Debra Kumar represented Ghanie and Walsh respectively, and both made lengthy submissions on behalf of their clients.  The men were granted their pre-trial liberty in the sum of Gy$350,000 each, with the special reasons being the facts and circumstances may change once the investigation is completed; other suspects are in custody who may be charged at the end of the investigation; and the charges against the defendants in light of the investigation not being completed cannot proceed to trial. The men were ordered to report to CANU headquarters every Monday and Friday at 9:30h and to lodge their travel documents until the matter could be determined.
On February 19, the discovery of the cocaine was made in the Holland-bound container, which was removed from a city wharf and taken back to the Guyana Timber Products Limited location for a search.  The discovery was made after the container was opened and some of the lumber was observed to have a different colour. This prompted officials to drill holes in them, where they found the white substance. CANU was subsequently called in and further searches revealed 314 bricks, weighing a total of 359.803 kg, concealed in hollowed-out lumber.