–lawyer tells magistrate court

ACTING Chief Justice Roxane George recently ordered that the $9M that The Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) had seized from convicted drug trafficker Barry Dataram and his brother, Troy Dataram in 2015 be returned.

The decision came after a lengthy battle over the sized asset which was suspected to be ‘drugs money’ in the High Court between the Dataram’s attorney, Glenn Hanoman and SOCU. The monies were handed over to Troy Dataram in July.

Barry Dataram is currently serving a five year sentence at the Mazaruni Prison for cocaine possession, and an additional 48 months for forgery. He was also sentenced to three years imprisonment after he was found guilty of possession of ammunition.

The monies were sized April 16, 2015 following a raid on the Diamond property, when 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. The house is reportedly owned by Troy Dataram.

When the matter was called on Wednesday, attorney Hanoman informed the court of the High Court decision but DPP prosecutor, Dionne McCammon explained the she did not know about the proceeding in the higher court.

According to McCammon, the DPP chambers was not involved in the High Court proceeding. Magistrate Latchman adjourned the matter until August 14 at 01:30pm for a report on the matter.