More than three months after their accomplice pleaded guilty and was sentenced to four years in Prison, two men were on Tuesday found guilty and jailed for being in possession of 2.25kg of cocaine -which ranks found hidden in a gas cylinder- on March 29, 2018.
Mark Gomes, 33, and Mohamed Kadir, 38, were jointly charged for the offence when they appeared before Chief Magistrate, Ann McLennan at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.
The court heard that on the day in question, two vehicles parked in the vicinity of Sheriff Street, Georgetown were being observed by ranks attached to the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU).
At about 19:45h, the ranks allegedly noticed Kadir exiting one of the motorcars, fetching a yellow gas cylinder. He reportedly moved into the other vehicle that was reportedly being occupied by Mark Gomes and Ryan Fowler (accomplice).
The three suspects were stopped by the investigators who conducted a search, resulting in the illegal substance being discovered.
The two accused were given the opportunity to tell their side of the story before the Court and in unsworn statements, Kadir first explained that he was called by Gomes to meet a friend that was encountering mechanical issues on his vehicle.
He told the court that when that friend (Ryan Fowler) showed up at a shop on Sheriff Street, Georgetown with Gomes as a passenger, CANU ranks reportedly pounced on them.
According to Kadir, he was unaware as to why he was arrested until much later.
He claimed that Fowler had told him and Gomes that the drugs found belonged only to him.
Gomes’s story corroborated what was said by Kadir.
Their attorneys Glenn Hanoman and Mark Waldron in summing up their case stated that the Prosecution’s case is based on the reliability and credibility of one witness and called for a no case submission.
However, in her rebuttal CANU’s Prosecutor, Konyo Sandiford said that the case against the defendants was proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
The two were sentenced to serve four years in prison, each.
Only four days ago, the father of Mark Gomes, Andre Gomes, called “Zipper,” was freed of drug trafficking charges by Magistrate Leron Daly, who ruled that the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) had been unable to support their allegations against Gomes with enough evidence to warrant a conviction.
Gomes, 57, of Craig Street, Campbellville, Georgetown, had been arraigned on trafficking in narcotics charges after a search carried out at his residence had allegedly unearthed 992 grams of cocaine, a quantity of cash, jewelry, and other valuables.
