Colombian, Venezuelan denied bail in cocaine trafficking case

Two foreign nationals were on Monday remanded to prison after being charged with trafficking over five kilograms (kg) of cocaine in the vicinity of the Botanical Gardens on Mandela Avenue, Georgetown.

The accused, 33-year-old Jose Luis Peres Valera, a taxi driver residing at Lot 80 Garnett Street, Kitty, and living in Guyana for the past five years, and 22-year-old Jose Luis Mejia Calderon, a construction worker also residing at the Garnett Street address, and who recently arrived in Guyana, were arraigned at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court, where they both pleaded not guilty to the charge.
According to the prosecution, on Friday, April 11, at approximately 13:30h, officers from the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU), acting on intelligence received, intercepted the men in the parking lot of Space Gym, Mandela Avenue. They were observed standing near a motor vehicle bearing licence plate number PAD 1523. CANU ranks identified themselves and informed the defendants that they had information about narcotics being transported in the vehicle.
A search was conducted on the men’s persons, but nothing was found. However, during a subsequent search of the vehicle’s back seat, officers discovered a box and an additional parcel containing suspected cocaine. The total weight of the illegal substance was confirmed to be 5.563 kg, following preliminary testing.
The defendants were arrested and taken to CANU’s headquarters, where they were placed under caution. Prosecutors disclosed that Valera allegedly told investigators that he was seeking to borrow USD $1,000 from Calderon. He further claimed that Calderon informed him they would make a delivery, and in return, he would receive the funds.
During Monday’s court proceedings, both men were represented by Attorney-at-Law Everton Lammy-Singh and his co-attorney. The attorneys argued for bail, citing several “special reasons.”
The court heard that Calderon had only been in Guyana for three months. The attorneys further stated that at the time of the arrest, Valdera was the taxi driver while Calderon was the passenger of the vehicle.

They stated that Valera was working taxi on the day in question, when he was allegedly called by someone and asked to pick up the package and drop it off at the Mandela location. It was then that he and Calderon were intercepted.
The court also heard that before doing so, Valera picked up Calderon, intending to drop him off at a supermarket. It was further claimed that when arrested, the defendants were made to sign documents without understanding them, as there was no Spanish translation provided, and that they were unaware of what they had signed.
They also questioned the validity of the testing process, and argued that the case involved is a “double container,” implying that multiple parties may have had access to the package. They urged the court to consider the constitutional requirement for a timely trial, warning that the matter was unlikely to conclude within a reasonable time frame.
Attorney Lammy-Singh cited a precedent set by Justice Barlow regarding unlawful detention exceeding the constitutional limit of 72 hours. He added that there was no clear evidence the accused knew what was inside the package, and questioned whether the men were actually inside or outside of the vehicle at the time of interception.
CANU’s prosecutor, however, strongly objected to bail. She maintained that the cocaine was found inside a box and bag in the back seat of the vehicle the men were using. The prosecutor confirmed that Valera was the driver and Calderon was the passenger. She rejected the claim that documents were signed without translation, and denied that any of the accused were unlawfully detained.
On the matter of body camera footage, which the defendants’ lawyer inquired about, the prosecutor initially said there were no such recordings, but later confirmed that the officers involved were equipped with body cams and that footage would be made available during the trial.
She also expressed concern that the defendants, one of whom is from Colombia and the other from Venezuela, pose a flight risk.
Meanwhile, Magistrate McGusty noted that while one of the men’s passports had been lodged, individuals can still leave the country through irregular means, and she was not confident they would return for future hearings.
After considering the arguments, the Magistrate ruled that no special reasons had been presented to justify bail. She ordered that both defendants be remanded to prison until their next court appearance, which is scheduled for May 6, 2025.