A 35-year-old fisherman, who allegedly imported half a million dollars worth of cannabis into the country, has been remanded to Dodds until next Monday.
Christopher Dave Johnson, of Martindale’s Road, St Michael, also faces charges of possession, possession with intent to supply and trafficking of 124.4 kilogrammes of the illegal drug sometime between March 19 and 23 this year.
The accused was not required to plead to the indictable charges when he appeared before Magistrate Douglas Frederick today with his attorney Leslie Cargill-Straker.
Sergeant Rudy Pilgrim objected to bail given the quantity of drugs involved, the nature and seriousness of the charge and the fact that the accused was the subject of a police bulletin.
However, Cargill-Straker submitted that her client was a fit and proper candidate for bail.
“Being charged with 124.4 kilogrammes, does not mean that he is guilty,” she said.
She also argued that the prosecutor never submitted that her client would interfere with any witnesses or the investigation “therefore the issue of public interest does not arise”.
She also pointed out that her client had no previous convictions and no pending matters before the court.
“Yes he did not turn himself in right away [as a result of] the bulletin because he was trying to pursue his rights of having an attorney. He is a Barbadian and does not have ties anywhere else,” she added.
After taking the submissions into consideration, the magistrate granted Johnson bail in the sum of $250,000.
However, up to the end of the day’s sitting his surety had not returned to court with the necessary papers to show that the bail sum could be honoured.
The accused will therefore make his second appearance before Frederick on June 11.
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