GEORGETOWN – Alliance For Change (AFC) parliamentarian Devin Sears has been released on $400,000 bail by the High Court after spending nearly two weeks on remand for a drug trafficking charge involving more than 680 pounds of marijuana.
Bail was granted by Justice Navindra Singh following an application by Sears’ attorneys, reversing an earlier ruling that saw the ex-MP remanded to prison when he appeared before Magistrate Rushelle Liverpool at the Linden Magistrate’s Court on October 23.
Sears, who pleaded not guilty, was charged alongside Albert Sandy, who admitted to the offence and was sentenced to four years in prison. The case stems from a police operation on October 20, when officers intercepted a bus at the Old Bamia Police Checkpoint in Linden, Region Ten.
Investigators said the vehicle, owned by the Region Ten Tourism Committee Inc., was being driven by Sears, who served as the organisation’s Vice Chairman at the time. Sandy was reportedly the only passenger. Police said Sears appeared nervous when questioned, prompting ranks to ask what he was transporting. “I am transporting tourism plants,” he allegedly replied.
Officers conducted a search of the vehicle, uncovering 22 plastic bags and four canvas bags filled with what later tested positive for marijuana. Both men were arrested and cautioned. According to police, Sears remained silent, while Sandy confessed that the drugs were his and that he had paid the former MP to transport him to Parika.
The bust, which stunned the Linden community, led to Sears’ immediate resignation from his post within the Tourism Committee. His legal team has maintained that he had no knowledge of the drugs and was simply offering Sandy a ride.The matter has been adjourned to November 11, when it will be called again at the Linden Magistrate’s Court.
