THE Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Wednesday moved to the court to seize the assets of convicted drug lord Barry Dataram, who is currently serving an eight-year jail sentence for cocaine-trafficking and faces other charges related to trying to escape sentencing.The DPP and the Special Organised Crime Unit have estimated Dataram’s assets and his possible links to money laundering at $9M.

Before city Magistrate Judy Latchman, a lawyer attached to the DPP made an application for the seizure of Dataram’s assets which will be served to him on November 25.
Dataram, his reputed wife Anjanie Boodnarine, Kevin Charran, and Trevor Gouveia WERE charged with the possession of 129.230 kilogrammes of cocaine (equivalent to 284 pounds) that were found on April 16, 2015 at the Lot 661 Silver Dam, Fourth Avenue, Diamond Housing Scheme house owned by Dataram.
Dataram was found guilty and sentenced to 60 months imprisonment and fined $164 million.
At the time, he and Boodnarine were absent from court and it was found that they had left the country.
However, the couple was captured by Surinamese police and turned over to the local authorities and charged with attempting to defeat the administration of justice, forging Republic of Guyana passports and departing Guyana without presenting themselves to immigration officers.
Dataram pleaded guilty to the charges and was sentenced to a total of 2 years and 24 months’ jail by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan. Boodnarine denied the allegations, but is currently on remand after the chief magistrate refused to grant her bail, ruling that the court is of the opinion she is a flight risk.
The couple is currently awaiting trial before Magistrate Latchman for illegal ammunition possession; that trial will commence on November 25.
The couple was charged earlier this year for having 180 rounds of .223 ammunition in their possession on April 16, at Lot 661 Fourth Avenue, Block ‘X’ Diamond, East Bank Demerara, when they were not holders of firearm licences.
During the raid on the Diamond property, ranks of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) found approximately $9 million and this was later handed over to SOCU, so that an investigation could be initiated.
There are a number of provisions in the AML/CFT law that address the freezing of assets including bank accounts and the eventual forfeiture of assets of every description found to be connected to drug-trafficking, money laundering, terrorism financing and trafficking of arms among other crimes.