THE two defendants in the Soesdyke, East Bank Demerara cocaine in lumber drug bust case, were each granted $350,000 bail yesterday by Magistrate Allan Wilson.

The narcotic, worth millions of US) dollars, was discovered on February 19 on a shipment held up since early January and was actually the largest such find in local history.
Raymond Ghanie (no address given) and Dominique Welch, of Lot 1 Soesdyke, had previously pleaded not guilty to the charge of trafficking in 359.803 kilogrammes of cocaine.
Attorney-at-law Mr. Mark Waldron appeared for Ghanie, who is the manager of the Soesdyke sawmill where the drug was found and Attorney-at-law Ms. Debra Kumar, represented Welch, supervisor at the same mill.
Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) Prosecutor Donald Dowlin told the Court that investigations in the matter are continuing.
But Waldron argued that Ghanie was not at the sawmill when he received a phone call that Customs had detained their shipment and he assisted in the probe.
Counsel said nothing has been presented by the prosecution, to sustain the charge and the defendant’s reputation will be tarnished.
Unblemished record
Kumar said Welch has an unblemished record and him being held on an allegation is outrageous.
According to her, during the 72 hours he was in custody, he fully cooperated with CANU ranks.
She said Welch was kept at Prashad Nagar Police Outpost in Georgetown, but unlike the other defendant, was never offered any station bail.
Magistrate Wilson pointed out that the grant of pre-trial freedom is because the matter cannot proceed to trial as it is still being investigated.
He noted that, at the end of the trial, the circumstances may or may not change and other persons in custody may or may not be charged.
Both defendants must report to Police every Monday and Friday, at 09:30hrs, until the trial is concluded. Meantime, the case will be called, again, on April 8.