Police Detective Sergeant of CID Elfannando Newman as today charged by the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) for stealing a quantity of marijuana from the Timehri Police Station, East Bank Demerara (EBD).
Newman, of Herstelling, EBD appeared before Magistrate Sunil Scarce at the Diamond/Grove Magistrate’s Court where the charge was read, the Administration of Justice Act was applied, and he pleaded not guilty.
He was granted bail in the sum of $100,000 and the matter was adjourned to July 8. Newman was represented by Attorney-at-Law Siand Dhurjon.
The charge against Newman states that between February 27, 2021 and March 1, 2021 at the Timehri Police Station, being employed by the Guyana Police Force (GPF) as a Sergeant of Police, he stole three large bulky parcels of cannabis sativa with a total weight of 3,122 grams that was taken into possession by him by virtue of his employment.
As a result of a civil forfeiture investigation conducted by SOCU in September 2021, ranks went to the Timehri Police Station to conduct further investigations and it was revealed that a quantity of cannabis that should have been lodged by Newman was never lodged and was stolen.
The investigation revealed that February 27, 2021, the ranks stationed at the Highway Police Patrol Base searched a motorcar that had three occupants inside; two males and a female, and found three large parcels containing the narcotics.
One of the males, who was the driver of the car, offered the rank who found the narcotics $2M in cash and three ounces of gold to ignore the matter, but the rank refused his offer.
The narcotics and suspects were escorted to Timehri Police Station and handed over to Sergeant Newman who weighed the drugs and claimed that it was 3,122 grams. Newman failed to lodge the narcotics that were handed over to him and is alleged to have stolen them.
