Found guilty in July and sentenced to four years’ imprisonment for drug trafficking, 53-year-old Michael Andrew Morgan has appealed his conviction and jail time, and his lawyers are expected to petition the High Court soon for him to be released on bail pending appeal.
His lawyers are Glen Hanoman and Everton Singh-Lammy.
Morgan received the jail sentence from Senior Magistrate Sunil Scarce after being found guilty of trafficking seven pounds of cocaine at his home in Eccles, East Bank Demerara (EBD), on Ixora Avenue. In addition to the custodial sentence, the convict was fined $4,917,000.
It was reported that on the day in question, June 27, 2022, Custom Anti Naroctic Unit (CANU) officers acting on intelligence conducted a narcotics operation at Morgan’s home, thus resulting in the discovery of a quantity of cocaine, 27 rounds of 9mm ammunition, one .32 Taurus firearm, along with one magazine and 25 matching rounds of .32 ammunition.
The items were sized and Morgan was subsequently arrested and prosecuted.
Notwithstanding the Magistrate’s decision, Morgan, in maintaining his innocence had told a Probation Officer that he was “set up by someone” and that the drug was not found at his home.
In his sentencing remarks, Magistrate Scarce had mentioned that Hanoman had asked him to consider giving his client the three-year minimum prison sentence.
But in dismissing that plea, the Magistrate pointed out that no unique arguments had been made for the court to take such action into consideration.
A variety of factors, including the seriousness and frequency of the offence and the commercial quantity of cocaine involved, were taken into account by the Magistrate in arriving at an appropriate sentence.
According to the Magistrate, the trafficking of illicit drugs is a scourge on society, and thus a message needs to be sent to deter persons who might be inclined to commit such crimes.
This offender was given full credit for time spent in pretrial custody.
The case was prosecuted by CANU Prosecutor, Attorney-at-Law Thalia Thompson.
On June 29, 2022, Morgan had made his first court appearance and was sent on remand.
Before Magistrate Scarce and High Court Judge Gino Persaud, his lawyers had made bail requests but they were all rejected.
As such, he was kept on remand pending the hearing and determination of his trial. Morgan completed his secondary education at Queen’s College, has a degree in aeronautical science from a United States university, and is also a certified pilot, according to his lawyers.
Prior to his incarceration, he worked as an auto dealer.
Michael Andrew Morgan and his brother Peter Morgan have been under the CANU radar for more than two decades. In fact, Peter Morgan was deported from the United States back in 2015 after serving time in federal prison on drug trafficking charges.
He was arrested for conspiring to import, possess, and distribute five kilograms of cocaine in the US between December 2001 and August 2003.
