Porter gets 3 years, fined $19.7M for ganja, cocaine possession

– alleged accomplice freed

A porter and a driver who were jointly charged in January 2020 for trafficking in narcotics reappeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on Monday.

Twenty-four-year-old Randy Chester, a porter of Kildonan Village Corentyne, Berbice, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) was found guilty of trafficking 2.74 kilograms of cocaine and 22 kilograms of cannabis by Magistrate Ann McLennan.
As such, he was given a three-year sentence and fined $19.7 million.
His accomplice, 45-year-old Christopher Garraway, a driver of Norton Street, Lodge, Georgetown, was freed of the charges brought against him.
The court heard that on January 16, 2020, at John Fernandes Container Terminal Road, Mandela Avenue, West Ruimveldt, Georgetown, Garraway allegedly supplied Chester with the illegal drugs.
On the day in question, ranks of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) acted upon information and intercepted a truck which was destined for Berbice.
A search was carried out on the vehicle, and a quantity of marijuana and cocaine were unearthed in two white salt bags.
During the court proceedings, Chester was represented by Attorney-at-Law Amora Giddings and was found guilty by the Chief Magistrate due to his incriminating statement when he told CANU officers that he collected the salt bags containing the drugs and loaded them onto the truck for them to be taken to the Berbice Bridge where they would be collected.
During the trial, CANU led evidence in court showing that Garraway was on video recording handing over the drugs to Chester.
However, the court found that Garraway was not properly identified as the provider of the drugs. After submissions and objections by Garraway’s Attorney, Siand Dhurjon – the court found that the evidence presented by CANU Prosecutor Konyo Sandiford to be unreliable.
Chief Magistrate McLennan also agreed with Dhurjon’s submissions and found that the eyewitness could not be relied upon to single out Garraway in the video.
The confession statement allegedly given by Garraway was also successfully challenged, and was barred from being put into evidence by the learned Magistrate.
The Chief Magistrate, however, acquitted Garraway of the charges.