$250,000 bail for woman after cocaine, ganja found at her resort

A 32-year-old woman who was, on August 9, arraigned before Mabaruma Magistrate Sunil Scarce on charges in relation to a drug bust at her hotel, and was remanded to prison, was on Thursday placed on $250,000 bail by Acting Chief Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus in that Georgetown Magistrate’s Court.
Deneve Ramzan, the owner of Lorenzo and Deneve (L&D) Resort located at Kumaka, North West District in Region One (Barima-Waini), reappeared at the Georgetown Magistrates Courts on Thursday, September 7, when her lawyer Bernard Da Silva renewed an application for bail on her behalf.
Among the reasons this lawyer advanced in his application for bail for his client was the lack of certainty as to when his client’s trial would commence, since the Mabaruma Magistrate’s Court sits every three months.
Acting Chief Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus agreed with counsel’s argument, and granted Ramzan her pretrial liberty on condition of her posting the $250,000 bail.
The case will be called again on November 20 for report and further disclosure. The substantive Magistrate Sunil Scarce was not available for yesterday’s hearing as he was travelling out of the country on official business.
It is alleged that on August 4, at the Kumaka Waterfront in the North-West District, Ramzan had 382 grams of cannabis and 20 grams of cocaine in her possession for the purpose of trafficking. According to a Police report, ranks from the Mabaruma Police Station went to the Lorenzo and Deneve (L&D) Resort at Kumaka, NWD at around 22:30h on August 4, and conducted a search in Room Four, which was occupied by Ramzan, in the presence of her brother Alister Peters, a 26-year-old maintenance worker at the said resort.
They unearthed a box containing several costumes, and a black plastic bag containing a quantity of seeds, leaves, and stems suspected to be cannabis, and
Ramzan was immediately told of the allegation: that she was in possession of narcotics.
A further search was conducted in the washroom area, under the face sink, where Police found a plastic bag containing a quantity of creamish/whitish substance suspected to be cocaine.
Ramzan was again told of the offence committed, and according to the Police, she said: “Those things belong to my boyfriend Roberto Miggins”, whom she said was staying with her for a few days, and that they were currently having a problem and he was trying to “set her up”.
Police then searched Room #6, which Peters occupied, but nothing unlawful was found. In the presence of Peters and Ramzan, a further search was conducted in an abandoned fridge by the lobby area, where a rice bag was found containing a quantity of seeds, leaves, and stems wrapped with brown scotch tape, and suspected to be cannabis.
Peters and Ramzan were told separately of the offence committed: that they were in possession of narcotics for the purpose of trafficking, and they both denied knowing about the narcotics, claiming it belonged to Miggins.
The siblings were arrested and placed in the Police vehicle with the narcotics found, and while they were being escorted to the station, Miggins was seen walking on the road. Ramzan immediately pointed him out to the Police, and Miggins was told of the allegation, which he denied. He was arrested and escorted to the Mabaruma Police Station.
While at the station, the suspected narcotics in the black plastic bag were weighed in presence of those arrested, and it amounted to 382 grams. The suspected cocaine was weighed, and it amounted to 20 grams, and the narcotics wrapped in the brown scotch tape amounted to 449 grams.
At the station, Ramzan made a report against Miggins, claiming he had assaulted her. She was escorted to seek medical attention at Mabaruma Regional Hospital, where she was seen by a doctor, who treated and sent her away. She was also issued with a medical certificate.
Miggins was questioned, and admitted to sharing a relationship with Ramzan. He told the Police that he had been staying with her in Room #4 for the past four days. He related that on August 3, at about 20:00hrs, they had a problem and he moved out. He, however, denied assaulting her. (G1)