VINOOD Gopaul, alias ‘Magga,’ who escaped from custody on June 11, 2011 while serving time at the New Amsterdam Prison,  is now back behind bars after appearing before Magistrate Rabindranauth Singh at the Albion Court.

He was refused bail after the indictable charge, for which he was not required to plea, was read to him. He was remanded to prison, and  is expected to attend the New Amsterdam Court on June 9 for a report.
Gopaul also faces a robbery-under-arms charge, allegedly committed on April 22 last at Yakasari, North Black Bush Polder, when, armed with  a gun, he entered the home of Brijnauth Niwaz, 58, and beat and robbed him and his wife, Kalawattie,  of $1.7M. Reports are that the police later found an improvised shotgun not too far from the scene of the crime.
That case has been transferred to the Mibicuri Magistrate Court, where it will be heard on June 3.
Gopaul, who had been on the run for almost three years, was  recaptured last Sunday during a sting operation in the agricultural community of Black Bush Polder. He had been listed to stand trial for murder at the Berbice Criminal Court, but is now freed from that indictment  after the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) filed a null prosequi in his favour.
The charge against him was for allegedly murdering his father while still a teenager. His June, 2011, escape from prison was his second; he had almost completed serving a five-year sentence on an escape-from-lawful-custody charge.
In the first instance, Gopaul was among 18 prisoners who escaped from the New Amsterdam Prison in August 2007. His freedom back then was short-lived, as he was recaptured soon after his escape at Edinburg Village, East Bank, Berbice.
Prior to his arrest on Sunday, sleuths had learnt that Gopaul would visit his residence from time to time, but always fled to the ‘backdam’ whenever he recieved a tip-off that the police were on his trail.
Four days earlier, he was spotted at a ‘wake,’ but had been long gone when the police swooped down at the house. Consequently, a dragnet was set up around his home, and this time around, he was not able to escape, despite his best effort.