– 78 year old also refused bail
SADIKA Leona Odie, a 38-year-old model of Burrowes School of Art who was charged with drug trafficking was refused bail Monday by Chief Magistrate, Priya Sewnarine-Beharry.
Odie of Lot 186 Thomas Street, Kitty, Georgetown, pleaded not guilty to the charge that said on Saturday, February 8 at Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), Timehri, East Bank of Demerara, she had 9.274 kilogrammes of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking.

Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) Prosecutor Oswald Massiah said the defendant was in possession of a U.S. visitor’s visa and made arrangements with someone in Guyana to take two packages concealed with what appeared to be seeds mixed in achar to the U.S. She was offered a fee of US$10,000 and was also granted US$4,000 in advance with an airline ticket.
Odie had a suitcase and a bag and was asked to come off the aircraft to identify her luggage and a subsequent search yielded the prohibited substance stated in the charge.
Attorney-at-law Paul Fung-a-Fat who represented the defendant said on that day the woman had her seven-year-old child on board, who was taken to her father by CANU officers. He said the child was disowned by her father who took her to the older 18-year-old sibling. He said she is a single mother of five children.
The defence lawyer requested an early date for commencement of the Preliminary Inquiry (PI) and the case was transferred to Providence Magistrate’s Court for Friday.
Meanwhile, 78-year-old Winston Blades, of Lot 121 Meadow Brook Gardens, Georgetown, who was also busted with cocaine-in-achar was also refused bail in the same court.
He too denied the allegation which said on Saturday, February 8 at Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), Timehri, East Bank of Demerara, he had 10.658 kilogrammes of cocaine.
CANU Prosecutor Massiah said the defendant is a Guyana-born US citizen who has been living in the US since the 1980s and would visit Guyana from time to time. He came back to Guyana last year and during his stay he associated with a woman named Dawn.
Dawn offered to pay his passage and on February 6 she went to his home and made arrangements for him to take the package on February 8. They subsequently took a taxi to the airport and during the checks his bag appeared to be bulky and was weighed. The bag was pierced and among other substances, seeds shaped like nutmeg containing the illegal substance were found.
He was represented by attorney-at-law Mark Waldron, who in a failed effort for bail, said his client was never charged by the police and the prosecutor should not object to bail, since they already highlighted the special reason in the facts. He said the prohibited substance was found inside a package of which Blades is unaware. The lawyer said the prosecution has to prove that his client is aware or has reasonable knowledge of it, since it is clearly shown that the woman befriended him to transport the illegal substance.
However, bail was refused as no special reason was raised by the defence and the case was transferred to the Providence Magistrate’s Court for Friday also.
Written By Geeta Rampersaud