– swooped off to Camp Street Prison
One day after self-confessed drug lord Barry Dataram and his reputed wife Anjanie Boodnarine were arrested in Suriname, they were on Saturday morning handed over to Guyana’s premiere drug enforcement unit, the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) and members of the Guyana Police Force.
Head of CANU, James Singh and ranks of the SWAT team travelled to Moleson Creek, Berbice, where the duo was handed over by Surinamese officials. Upon his arrival in Georgetown, Dataram was immediately thrown into the Camp Street penitentiary while his reputed wife remains in Police custody.
It was believed that the couple entered Suriname with false travel documents. The documents, however, seemed authentic since they were reportedly issued by the Chief Immigration Office in Georgetown.
Dataram used a passport with the name “David Persaud”. The passport was issued on April 15, 2013 and bears the number R0376916. Dates also suggested that the passport will expire in 2018.
On the other hand, Boodnarine entered Suriname under the name “Christine Persaud”. Information on the passport stated that it was issued in January 2016 while Boodnarine was on trial for the possession of narcotics. Dataram and Boodnarine had absconded one day before a court ruling on a drug possession charge.
However, in light of the recent revelation of the fake passports, Citizenship Minister Winston Felix in a release stated that a full investigation has been launched to determine the circumstances under which the convicted drug lord and his reputed wife were issued with passports in another name and that those culpable will face the harshest possible action.
Meanwhile, following the arrest of the duo and his handing over to local authorities, acting Police Commissioner David Ramnarine acknowledged the excellent collaboration between local law enforcement units and their counterparts in Suriname.
He added that the collaboration represents
the best efforts and sends a clear message that with the use of Science and technology in law enforcement and personnel who are consummate professionals, the public interest is well served.
“On the law enforcement front, we wish to sincerely thank our colleagues in Suriname,” the acting Commissioner added. Dataram was sentenced to 60 months imprisonment and fined $164 million in absentia after he was found guilty of being in possession of 129.230 kilograms of cocaine on April 16, 2015 at his Lot 661 Silver Dam, Fourth Avenue, Diamond Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara (EBD) home.
Along with his reputed wife, Kevin Charran and Trevor Gouveia were all freed on the drug charge. The duo was initially arrested after CANU ranks swooped down on his EBD home. During the search, the ranks unearthed the cocaine.
It was reported that some of the cocaine was stuffed in frozen seafood, while the remainder was found to be bricks of raw cocaine. CANU ranks also seized an undisclosed sum of money.
In March, Dataram during a television interview admitted his involvement in the drug trade but added that he had never been convicted for a criminal charge.
He was arrested several times but has escaped the clutches of United States law enforcement after an extradition attempt failed.
Dataram also accused a high ranking CANU official of being involved in the drug trade and added that the rank would take as much as $10 million to allow cocaine to leave the country.
Following the revelation, head of the drug enforcement unit, James Singh had denied the allegation made against his staff while noting that CANU welcomes further public confessions of criminal elements.
