CUSTOMS broker Malcolm Sonaram was refused bail yesterday on a charge of trafficking in marijuana found almost 10 months ago in a container of pumpkins being shipped to Barbados. Sonaram, 38, of Lot 188 Garnett Street, Albouystown, appeared before Acting Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry and pleaded not guilty to the offence, particulars of which said he trafficked in 19 kilogrammes 930 grammes of the narcotic between December 20, 2011 and January 10, 2012 at Guyana National Industrial Corporation (GNIC) wharf, also in Georgetown.
Police Corporal Kerry Bostwick, prosecuting, said, upon receipt of certain information, a search was conducted in a container that had the pumpkins and leaves, seeds and stems of the prohibited plant were found.
The prosecutor said the case was under investigation for some time and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) recently advised that the defendant be charged.
Defence Counsel Sanjeev Datadin argued that Sonaram had nothing to do with the narcotic as the contents of the container is not a part of his job.
The lawyer said the broker cooperated fully with the police and provided the names and addresses of the persons who had retained his services but, instead, he, not the persons responsible for the consignment, was charged.  
Datadin said the police declined to charge the other individuals although full details about them were given.
The magistrate ordered that the prosecution file statements and remanded the defendant overnight, until today, when he will make his next appearance.