Essequibo duo charged, remanded for $5M in imported ganja

Naresh Ramdeen,37, of Jacklow, Pomeroon River and Stefan Mohamed, 29, of Coffee Grove, Essequibo Coast were on Thursday remanded to prison for being in possession of 13.34 kilograms of imported ganja for the purpose of trafficking.

The duo appeared virtually before Magistrate Sam at the Suddie Magistrate’s Court, where they pleaded not guilty to the charges when those were read to them. As such, they were remanded, and the matter has been transferred to the Charity Magistrate’s Court for April 17. Two men were arrested by agents of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) on Monday last with the imported ganja during an operation at Charity Street, Charity, Essequibo, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam). CANU has stated that, on the day in question, officers intercepted a motor vehicle bearing registration HD 1880 at Charity Street, Charity, Essequibo. At the time, the vehicle had two occupants.

A search was conducted on the vehicle, and 12 brick-like parcels suspected to be cannabis were unearthed. The narcotic was tested and found to be imported ganja, weighing approximately 30 lbs. (13.34 kg) and having an estimated street value of $5 million.