Thirty-three-year-old Mark Gomes and 38-year-old Mohamed Kadir, charged for possession of 2.25 kg of cocaine found hidden in a gas cylinder, will know their fate today when they appear before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan.
The men were charged along with Ryan Fowler, who has since pleaded guilty to the allegation and has been jailed for four years.
Mark Gomes and Mohammed Kadir
It has been reported that two vehicles which were parked in the vicinity of Sheriff Street, Georgetown were under surveillance by ranks of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU). At about 19:45h, the ranks allegedly noticed Kadir exiting one of the vehicles fetching a yellow gas cylinder. He reportedly moved into the vehicle occupied by Gomes and Fowler.
The three suspects were allegedly accosted by the CANU ranks, and there ensued a search which unearthed the quantity of illegal substance discovered.
Gomes and Kadir have been given opportunity to tell their side of the story in court. In unsworn statements, Kadir first explained that he had been called by Gomes to meet a friend who was encountering mechanical issues with his vehicle. He said that when the friend (Ryan Fowler) showed up with Gomes as a passenger in his vehicle at a shop on Sheriff Street, Georgetown, CANU ranks pounced on them.
Kadir said he was unaware why he was arrested, until much later. He told the Court that Fowler had told him and Gomes that the drugs found belonged only to him.
Gomes’s story corroborated what was said by Kadir.
Their attorneys, Glenn Hanoman and Mark Waldron, in summing up their cases, said the Prosecution’s case is based on the reliability and credibility of one witness, and that their clients therefore have no case to answer.
However, in her rebuttal, CANU Prosecutor Konyo Sandiford said the cases against the defendants had been proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
