Berbice men found with ganja, firearm charged  

Two Corentyne-Berbice men were on Friday remanded to prison after they were charged with possession of narcotics for the purpose of trafficking.

Suraj Singh, 30, of No. 72 Village, East Berbice Corentyne and 55-year-old Mourice Vansluytman of No. 70 Village appeared at the No. 51 Magistrate’s Court before Magistrate Alex Moore. They both pleaded not guilty and were refused bail.

Both men were remanded to prison until October 21, 2022.

Singh and Vansluytman were arrested by ranks of the Customs Anti Narcotic Unit (CANU) on Tuesday last after they were found with several parcels of marijuana and a shotgun with 16 live cartridges.

The men were intercepted in a boat at Manarabisi Canal, East Berbice Corentyne.

The officers carried out surveillance activities in several main drainage canals in the Corentyne district over a period of two days.

The narcotics tested positive for marijuana and had a total weight of 126 kg (277.7 lbs).

The operation was part of CANU’s efforts to reduce the flow of narcotics being trafficked out of the Berbice river district to Suriname.