Arrest warrants issued for drug lord Barry Dataram, reputed wife

Last Updated on Tuesday, 20 September 2016, 16:08 by Denis Chabrol

by Abigail Semple

Arrest warrants were Tuesday issued for self-confessed drug lord, Barry Dataram and his reputed wife, Anjanie Boodnarine, after they failed to turn up in court to know whether they would have to lead a defence or would be freed of a cocaine trafficking charge.

City Magistrate, Judy Latchman ordered two other co-accused – Kevin Charran and Trevor Gouveia- who turned up in court to return on Friday, September 23, 2016 for the continuation of the matter. Latchman warned the duo that if they too also fail to turn up for court, she would also issue arrest warrants for them.

The four are facing trial for allegedly being in possession of  129.230 kilogrammes (284 pounds) of cocaine. The Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) states that the narcotic was found on April 16, 2015 at Dataram’s  house located at 661 Silver Dam, Fourth Avenue, Diamond Housing Scheme.

Defence Lawyer, Glenn Hanoman told the court that Dataram had promised to appear in court on Tuesday but when he did not see him he called several times to no avail. He said a woman called back but before he could ask where was his client, the phone cut off.

Hanoman said Dataram and Boodnarine have a good record of attendance so he was unsure if an emergency might have prevented them from turning up on Tuesday.

If the magistrate finds that sufficient evidence has been found to make any or all of the accused culpable, they would be required to lead a defence.

Already, a total of 692 parcels of cocaine, a multi-coloured box that contained utensils and a white fridge have been already admitted into evidence.

The United States (US) had once tried to extradite Dataram to face drug trafficking charges, but after a series of legal challenges the High Court had ruled several years ago that the extradition agreement did not sufficiently protect him from being extradited to a third country.