Demerara Waves Online News- Guyana Riding on the Crest of Truth
Last Updated on Thursday, 19 January 2017, 17:19 by Derwayne Wills
While charges have been dropped against reputed wife of convicted drug dealer Barry Dataram, Anjanie Boodnarine, Dataram will have to pay a $60,000 fine and service a concurrent prison sentence of 3 years.
The ruling was handed down today by city magistrate, Judy Latchman. Dataram is already serving a 60 months prison sentence for narcotics possession, for which the fresh sentence will run parallel.
Another sentence of 48 months was also handed to Dataram last year for an immigration offense. Both of Dataram’s prison times were handed down by magistrate Latchman last year.
Dataram and Anjanie were apprehended by the Surinamese authorities last year and handed over to Guyanese police.
In April 2015 at Dataram’s Diamond, East Bank Demerara home, anti-narcotics agents found 33 parcels of cocaine in an upstairs bathroom, 180 pieces in a blue baby tub and 92 pieces in a black garbage bag in the downstairs dining room, and 142 pieces in a freezer with shrimp in the outer yard area.
The cocaine amounted to 129 kilograms, which is equivalent to 284 pounds.
Dataram, during an exclusive interview with HGPTV’s Travis Chase in February last year, admitted his own involvement in the drug trade, but added that he had never been convicted for a criminal offence.
He had levelled corruption allegations against members of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) at the time.
A one-man Commission of Inquiry, which was undertaken by Retired Brigadier Bruce Lovell, subsequently cleared CANU of the allegations