Guyana: A detective charged with stealing drugs from Timehri Police Station

Guyana: A Police Detective Sergeant of CID in Guyana has been charged with stealing drugs from Timehri Police Station. He has been recognized as Elfannando Newman of Lot 1699 Plot B Herstelling, East Bank Demerara and charged by the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) with Larceny by a Public officer.He appeared before his Worship Sunil Scarce at Diamond/Golden Grove Magistrate 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 G$100,000.00. The matter was adjourned to 8th July for the statement to be filed with the court. The defendant was represented by attorney-at-law Dhurjon.The charge against Newman is that between Saturday 27th February 2021 and Monday 1st March 2021, at the Timehri Police Station, East Bank Demerara, being employed by the Guyana Police Force as a Sergeant of Police, stole three large bulky parcels of Cannabis Sativa alleged to have Three Thousand One Hundred and Twenty-Two grams, received or taken into possession by him by virtue of his employment.As a result of a Civil Forfeiture investigation conducted by SOCU in September 2021, SOCU ranks went to the Timehri Police Station to conduct further investigations and it was revealed that a quantity of cannabis that Newman should have lodged on 27th February 2021 was never lodged and was stolen.The investigation revealed that Saturday, 27th February 2021, the ranks stationed at the Highway Police Patrol Base searched a motor car that had three occupants inside, two males and a female, and three large parcels of leaves, seeds, and stems suspected to be narcotics weighing about 45 to 50 pounds. One of the males, who was the driver of the car, offered the rank who found the narcotics two million dollars cash and three ounces of gold, but the rank refused his offer.The narcotic and suspects were escorted to Timehri Police Station and handed over to Sergeant Newman, who weighed the narcotic and claimed that it was 3122 grams. Newman failed to lodge the narcotics that were handed over to him and is alleged to have stolen them.