2 charged with Corentyne gun bust released on $600,000 bail

…men were in wrong place at the wrong time – defence claims

Two men arrested during last week’s gun bust at Dukestown, Corriverton, were on Monday granted $300,000 bail each when they appeared at the Whim Magistrate’s Court charged with unlawful possession of arms and ammunition.
Umeer Parks and Mard Matthews, appeared before Magistrate Tuanna Hardy, with their attorney Vinay Punwa, who successfully applied for bail, saying that they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Punwa told the court that his clients were never in possession of the firearm and ammunition, contending that ranks had observed the weapons in the hands of individuals aboard a boat that had arrived from Suriname. He maintained that Parks and Matthews were present at the location when the operation unfolded, insisting that they had been wrongfully implicated.

In support of his bail application, the attorney also presented medical documents indicating that Parks suffers from a heart condition. He further noted that the family was prepared to lodge his passport as part of bail conditions.
The attorney also raised concerns about the manner in which the two men were handled following their arrest, alleging that they were taken into the custody of Customs Anti-Narcotic Unit (CANU), detained for approximately one hour before being transported to the police station.
The matter has since been adjourned to May 14 and transferred to the Springlands Magistrate’s Court.
The charges stem from an operation conducted last Thursday at the Dukestown seawall, where ranks acting on intelligence observed a wooden boat along the Corentyne River with four male occupants, while two men were seen onshore, each holding a black box. As officers approached and identified themselves, the two men reportedly dropped the boxes and attempted to flee, while the boat sped away.
The men were apprehended shortly after, and the boxes, when opened, were found to contain two black ZORAKI 9mm pistols and one round of ammunition.