MARLON Jarvis, a 44-year -old businessman of Lethem, was on April 8, 2019 remanded to prison for narcotics possession and bribery.

Particulars of the first charge allege that on April 3, 2019 at Tabatinga, Lethem in the Rupununi District, Jarvis had in his possession 53.74 kilograms of cannabis and 1.59 kilograms of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking.

The second charge read that on the same date at Tabatinga, Lethem, he attempted to pervert the court of justice, that is to say, he handed over to another man, the sum of $180,000 to bribe the police in order for the ranks to drop the narcotics investigation.Jarvis pleaded not guilty to both of the charges.

The man was represented by Attorney-at-Law, Jerome Khan, who strongly defended the accused.Khan said that his client was innocent in the matter and that he continuously contributes to the economy of Lethem.

Khan told the court that in relation to the second charge, on the day in question, his client was at home when he received a phone call from his  friend,who is also a businessman. During the phone call, the man’s friend told him that the police had surrounded his place of business and placed him under arrest for  narcotics possession.

The man’s attorney told the court that his client had no connection or interactions with the police. The attorney also told the court that Jarvis has no knowledge of the narcotics and that his client is not the owner of the building where the drugs were found.
“All he did was prove himself to be a Good Samaritan and lend his friend some money,” said Khan.A bail application was made under the circumstances that the prosecutions’ case is weak and that there’s lack of evidence that Jarvis markets narcotics.

However, Prosecutor Gordon Mansfield objected to bail being granted to the defendant. According to Mansfield, on the day in question police acted upon information received and went to an unfinished structure in Lethem where they carried out a search which revealed a bag on the floor with the suspected cannabis.
Further investigations were carried out, which led to the arrest of a friend of the accused. As the defendant’s friend was being investigated by police ranks, a call came in from a number and he was told to answer.

During the conversation, the caller spoke about a large sum of money for the police for the said narcotic.The defendant’s friend told the police ranks that Jarvis gave the narcotics to him to be stored at his home.

He was then released and sent home.When he got home, Jarvis arrived with the sum of money to hand over to the police and he was immediately arrested and taken into custody.

After listening to both parties, the Magistrate ruled that the defendant be remanded to prison until his next court appearance at the Lethem Magistrates’ Court on April 18, 2019.