MAGISTRATE Esther Sam sitting at the Charity Magistrate’s Court, on Monday dismissed and freed Ian Mathias and Troy Piper, who were charged with aiding the commissioning of trafficking in narcotics, their lawyer, Jerome Khan has reported.

Khan said in a release, that he submitted that the Prosecutor led no evidence to show that his clients had aided Gavin Adams in any aspect in trafficking of narcotics. Khan in his submission, argued that the charge against the two accused were procedurally misconceived and that there was no provision for charging anyone, for Aiding the Trafficking of Narcotics under Section Five (1)(a)(i) of the Narcotics Act.

The defence counsel also argued that the offence of, Aiding the Commissioning of Trafficking in Narcotics, had to be laid under Section 95 of the Narcotics Act, as the Aiding of the Trafficking of Narcotic was a substantive offence.

Mathias and Piper, along with four others, were charged with aiding Gavin Adams with the trafficking of 11.41 kilo of cocaine at Grant Woodlands, Pomeroon, Essequibo. The allegation was that the defendants between Friday 1st September, 2017 and Tuesday 2nd January, 2018, aided Gavin Adams a resident of Grant Woodlands, Pomeroon, Essequibo, in trafficking of narcotics.

All six persons pleaded not guilty to the offence and charge and were remanded to prison, with only Khan’s client, Troy Piper, securing bail for the sum of $2.M in the High Court. That was after Khan was able to show that the CANU prosecutor misled the court in her affidavit, in answer to the bail application.

Khan argued that since Mathias and Piper, had not been jointly charged with Gavin Adams with any offence, it was not open to the prosecution to charge either of them with aiding him in the Commissioning of Trafficking of Narcotics under Section Five of the Narcotic Act.
The attorney-at-law also pointed out to the court that no caution statement was tendered into evidence, nor were copies of the note pad that purportedly was used to record contemporaneous notes, admitted into evidence and marked as exhibits.

Khan further argued that, the prosecution led no evidence to show that a boat in which Matthias and Piper travelled on to Charity contained any narcotic. Neither were eyewitnesses present to support the prosecution’s case that the boat was used for the transportation of any narcotic from Moruca to Charity, nor was any evidence led that Matthias and Piper had any communication with Gavin Adams who was charged as the principal offender, with possession for the purpose of trafficking in narcotics. Both Matthias and Piper were swarmed by members of their family, who erupted in celebration after the decision was handed down and they were freed.