AN elderly couple who were charged with trafficking two women– one a Venezuelan– for sexual exploitation at La Cabana Bar and Hotel, were on Tuesday freed by Magistrate Esther Sam at the Anna Regina Magistrate’s Court.

Dhanraj Rambarran, 58, and his wife, Khamwattie Rambarran, 53, were freed of the charge after Magistrate Sam ruled in favour of a no-case submission made by their attorney Bernard DaSilva.

The Rambarrans were initially charged with using their property as a brothel.
The director of public prosecutions (DPP) had advised that, based on the evidence, the charges be dropped and the couple be charged with two counts of trafficking in persons.

The new charges read that, between January 1, 2019, and February 16, 2019, at La Cabana Bar, Henrietta Village, Essequibo Coast, the couple recruited, transported and harboured the women for sexual exploitation. The couple had pleaded not guilty to the two charges and were granted $200,000 bail.

The Guyana Chronicle had reported that the elderly couple was nabbed at La Cabana Bar and Hotel during a Trafficking in Persons (TIPs) raid conducted by the police and a Ministerial Task Force TIPs team from Georgetown.