By: Antonio Dey | HGP Nightly News |
Former Member of Parliament Devin Sears was remanded to prison on Thursday after being charged with possession of narcotics for trafficking. At the same time, his co-accused, 69-year-old farmer Albert Sandy, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to four years in prison.
The two men appeared before Magistrate Ruschelle Liverpool at the Linden Magistrate’s Court, where Sears, a 39-year-old educator and former parliamentarian for the Alliance For Change (AFC), pleaded not guilty. He was remanded until November 11 for report and disclosure.
Sandy, however, pleaded guilty to the indictable charge and accepted full responsibility for the narcotics, telling the court that he had hired Sears to transport the drugs to Parika.
According to police reports, the vehicle driven by Sears was stopped during a mobile patrol in the vicinity of the old Bamia Police Checkpoint in Linden. Officers noted that he appeared nervous and claimed he was transporting tourism plants. A subsequent search uncovered 22 bulky plastic bags and four large brown canvas bags containing leaves, seeds, and stems suspected to be cannabis.
Both men were escorted to the Mackenzie Police Station, where the narcotics were weighed and confirmed to total 310.71 kilograms.
Sears was represented by attorneys Nigel Hughes and Bernard Da Silva, while Sandy was unrepresented.
The former MP remains in custody pending his next court appearance as investigations continue.
