THIRTY-EIGHT-YEAR-OLD Gurudat Balit called ‘Lako’ was granted $100,000 bail, on Tuesday, when he appeared before Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus,charged with trafficking two and a half grammes of cocaine.

He pleaded not guilty to the offence at the New Amsterdam Court, in Berbice.
The businessman and cattle farmer was represented by Senior Counsel Bernard De Santos and other attorneys-at-law Ms. Pamela De Santos and Mr. Charrandas Persaud.
The defence lawyers argued that the prohibited drug was in an aerated drinks box under the counter of the off licence shop and was accessible to the public.
It was also stated that Balit is a first offender and had been detained in police custody since Friday, when he was arrested at Betsy Ground, East Canje, also in Berbice.
Police Sergeant Phillip Sherriff, prosecuting, did not object to the grant of pre-trial liberty but asked that bail be substantial.
The case has been transferred to the Reliance Court, East Canje, another part of Berbice, for September 18.