SELF-CONFESSED drug lord Barry Dataram, who has since fled the country, was found guilty of being in possession of a quantity of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking by Magistrate Judy Latchman.In his absence, he was sentenced to 60 months imprisonment and fined GYD$164,268,000. However, the charge was dismissed against his common-law wife, Anjanie Boodnarine, Kevin Charran and Trevor Gouveia.

Arrest warrants have been issued for Dataram and Boodnarine, who failed to turned up at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court on September 20 and September 23. They have not been seen or heard from since; reports indicate that they have fled to neighbouring Suriname with forged travel documents. They were on bail pending the outcome of the case.

Meanwhile, in her ruling, Magistrate Latchman stated that the evidence presented by the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) Prosecutor Konyo Sandiford-Thompson, proved Dataram’s guilt.

However, the Magistrate noted that there was insufficient evidence against the three other accused, noting that they were only present at the premises when the cocaine was found.

On April 16, 2015 at Dataram’s house located at 661 Silver Dam, Fourth Avenue, Diamond Housing Scheme, 33 parcels of cocaine substance were found in an upstairs bathroom, 180 pieces in a blue baby tub and 92 pieces in a black garbage bag in the downstairs dining room, and 142 pieces in a freezer with shrimp in the outer yard area.

The cocaine amounted to 129.230 kilograms, which is equivalent to 284 pounds.