DEFENDANTS Komal Persaud-Ramdhanny and Puran Singh who were charged by Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) Officers with possession of guns, ammunition and cultivation of marijuana plants  were freed by a West Bank Demerara Magistrate last Thursday. This happened after Senior Magistrate, Ms. Ann Mc Lennon, upheld a ‘no case submission’ by Attorney-at-Law, Mr. Lyndon Amsterdam who appeared for Persaud-Ramdhanny of Canal No 2 Polder, West Bank Demerara.
A group of CANU Officers, Andrew Yarde, Ivor Burnett and Navendra Ewing-Chow acting on information received, had carried out a raid at a farm at Kamuni, Potosí, West Bank, Demerara on August 31, 2011 where they found three men at a Camp whose names they later learnt to be Komal Persaud-Ramdhanny, Puran Singh and Chris Baptiste, a man of Amerindian descent who claimed to be working with Persaud-Ramdhanny.
The CANU Officers alleged that they found a quantity of plants in the camp suspected to be marijuana, three 12-gauge shot guns along with six  12-gauge shot  gun rounds  of ammunition.  They also claimed that there was a cultivation of marijuana plants on the land adjoining the camp which they destroyed.
The CANU Officers alleged that when the allegation of possession of firearm and ammunition without being a holder of a license was put to Ramdhanny, he replied by saying “yes, I am license firearm holder.”
Two of the men were arrested and along with plants, shotguns and ammunition were taken to CANU Headquarters, Homestretch Avenue, Georgetown and kept in custody.
Before going to CANU Headquarters, the CANU Officers went to the home of Ramdhanny at Canal No. 1 Polder and carried out a search for narcotics but nothing was found. At the home, Ramdhanny showed the officers his firearm and ammunition license.
On September 2, 2011 the CANU Officers escorted the men along with the ammunition to CID Headquarters, Eve Leary and handed over the  them and the men to Corporal Sarrabo.
Only Komal Persaud-Ramdhanny and Puran Singh were charged and placed before the  court for possession of narcotics and cultivation of marijuana by the CANU Officers, while the  police charged  the men for possession of unlicensed guns and ammunition.
However, there were several  evidential  deficiencies which according to  defence counsel arose in the investigations carried  out by the CANU  Officers  and the  Police at CID Headquarters , Eve Leary and on March 22, 2012, CANU  Prosecutor, Oswald Messiah, acting on the advice of the Director  of  Public  Prosecutions, withdrew the charges of possession of narcotics and  cultivation of  marijuana against the men.
Police prosecutor, Anand Sookhoo, however persisted with the prosecution of the guns and ammunition charges and the trial proceeded until the prosecution was ordered to close their case on  January 4, 2013 by Magistrate Ms. Mc Lennon.
Thereafter, Mr. Amsterdam, made no-case submissions and contended that the elements of defence were not established and there was insufficient evidence to establish a prima facie case against the defendants.  He contended that because of the evidential deficiencies, the prosecution was unable to have the guns and ammunition tendered into evidence as exhibits and so Sergeant Eon Jackson was unable to link the  ballistic test  with the alleged guns and  ammunition found at the camp.  
Mr. Amsterdam also contended that the prosecution did not show that the gun and ammunition allegedly found in possession of Persaud-Ramdhanny in particular was not that for which he was licensed to carry.
The Magistrate upheld the no-case submissions and dismissed the case against the defendants without calling on them for a defence.