BRITISH national Orin Lewis Boodi of Lot 252 Atlantic Gardens, East Coast Demerara appeared yesterday before Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry on a narcotics charge, and denied that on Friday, July 4, at the CJIA at Timehri, he had in his possession 7.170 kilogrammes of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking.Boodi was allegedly busted by CANU agents at the CJIA with cocaine in milk and ghee tins in his luggage when he attempted to board a TravelSpan flight. That bust occurred just hours after an American citizen who was an outgoing passenger on a Dynamic Airways flight had been caught with a little more than seven kilogrammes of cocaine in milk powder in his luggage.

Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) Prosecutor Oswald Messiah told the court that the facts in the matter are as stated in the charge; and he successfully objected to bail on the ground that no special reason had been given to the court to warrant Boodi’s pre-trial liberty.

The 29-year-old Boodi also told the court that he had previously been sentenced to three years’ imprisonment on a similar charge.

He was remanded to prison, and the matter was transferred to Providence court for July 21 calling.