Michael Andrew Morgan, 53, has been found guilty of trafficking $3.5 million worth of cocaine by Senior Magistrate Sunil Scarce when the matter was called at the Diamond Magistrate’s Court today.
As such, sentencing was deferred to July 14 pending a probation report.
On June 29, 2022, Morgan of Ixora Avenue, Eccles, East Bank Demerara (EBD), was remanded to prison after he was charged in connection with the discovery of 3.278 kilograms of cocaine at his home earlier that month. At his second appearance in August of that year, he was again refused bail and further remanded to prison.
As such, his attorney, Glen Hanoman, had petitioned for bail in the High Court, arguing that the request was based on “unreasonable delay” and that the prosecution had sought an adjournment on the basis that the analyst report was not yet completed when in fact it was.
Hanoman had also advanced that the Customs Anti Narcotics Unit (CANU) has evidential problems including establishing a nexus between the illegal drug and his client.
However, CANU prosecutor, Attorney-at-Law Thalia Thompson had objected to bail on the basis that no special reasons were advanced or shown that warrant the ground for granting bail.
She had also argued that the matters raised by Hanoman are contentious issues of fact suitable for trial and not a bail hearing. She had also contended that there has been no delay but an argument of presumed delay in the future.
Following the arguments, Justice Gino Persaud had ruled that the evidential issues are not relevant factors to be taken into consideration for the granting of bail. He, therefore, agreed with the arguments put forward by the CANU prosecutor that no special reasons were put forward for bail to be considered, and as such, dismissed the application.
It was reported that on the day in question, CANU officers acting on intelligence conducted a narcotics operation at Ixora Avenue, Eccles, EBD, 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 ammunitions.
Morgan was subsequently arrested and escorted to CANU headquarters along with the firearm, ammunition, and cocaine. Andrew Morgan and his brother Peter Morgan have been under CANU’s radar for more than two decades.
Notably, Peter Morgan was deported from the US back in 2015 after serving his time in prison on trafficking in narcotics charges. He was arrested for conspiring to import, possess and distribute five kilograms of cocaine between December 2001 and August 2003 in the United States.
