THREE men appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court, jointly charged with the alleged possession of 2.250 kilogrammes of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking.

Thirty-three-year-old Mark Gomes, Ryan Fowler, 33, and 38-year-old Mohammed Kadir were all charged over last Thursday’s drug bust on Sherriff Street. Gomes and Kadir were remanded to prison, while Fowler was sentenced to four years in jail and fined $6M after he entered a guilty plea.

Prosecutor for the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU), Konyo Sandiford, told the court that on the day in question at about 19:45hrs, ranks observed two vehicles parked suspiciously in the vicinity of Sheriff Street.

The court heard that Kadir exited one of the vehicles with a yellow gas cylinder and went over to the other vehicle which was being driven by Gomes with Fowler as a passenger.
CANU ranks subsequently intercepted the vehicle with the men inside, a search was conducted which unearthed the drugs hidden inside the gas bottle.

After the prosecutor indicated that CANU would still move ahead with the case against Gomes and Kadir, they were both remanded to prison until April 18, 2018
Just two months ago Gomes’ father, Andre ‘Zipper’ Gomes, a popular businessman, was remanded to jail following another drug bust. Last year too, the reputed wife of ‘Zipper’ was sentenced to four years in jail after she pleaded guilty to having a large quantity of cocaine at the Campbellville house where she lived.