$2M bail for 4 held with ‘coke’

A TOTAL of $2 million in bail was granted to four people, all of Las Lomas, who appeared before a Chaguanas magistrate yesterday charged with trafficking 18.28 kilos of cocaine, with an estimated local street value of over $1 million. Khemraj Reesal, 39, and Dhanraji Boodoo, 45, both of Dhanraj Saroop Avenue in Las Lomas, were represented by attorney Liesel Singh, while co-accused Sheldon Roopchand and Kevin Singh were represented by Rajiv Persad.

The four stood before Magistrate Judy Gordon and were not called on to enter a plea since the charge was laid indictably. Gordon granted each of the accused $500,000 bail and also ordered the defendants to surrender their passports and report to the Cunupia Police Station every week on Tuesdays and Saturdays between the hours 9 am and 4 pm. The matter was adjourned to July 29. The charge stated that on July 12 at around 1.40 am, officers of the Organised Crime and Narcotics Unit (OCNU) and the Firearms Interdiction Unit (FIU) carried out an exercise in the Las Lomas area and  allegedly held them with the cocaine inside a 20-foot metal container. The four made their initial appearance before an Arima magistrate, who adjourned the matter and transferred it to the Chaguanas Magistrates’ Court.