By Farah Bates – Twenty – year -old Kevin Archer, Ramnarine Punwasie, 23, Carl Williams, 51, boat captain Marvin Kissoon, 39, and Natram Punwasie, 38, were on Thursday charged and remanded to prison for possession of narcotics when they appeared at the New Amsterdam Magistrates’ Court before by Magistrate Peter Hugh.
The men were involved in a boat collision on Tuesday with a smaller vessel and reportedly fled the scene after the incident, however; Kissoon who was the captain of the larger vessel was arrested at his residence and taken into custody.
The man then told police that he was heading North, while the smaller boat was heading South when it came into his path, as a result of the collision the boat which had 4 occupants, Freeman Denheart, Romario Denheart both of Heatburn Village, East Bank Berbice and Godfrey Lindey and Julian Mckenzie of Sandhill Village, Berbice River were all thrown overboard and drowned.
After an intelligence led operation by ranks in ‘B’ Division, the police were able to arrest 3 other crew members who were found with 32 taped parcels of suspected cannabis weighing over 81 Pounds at Edinburgh Village, East Bank Berbice.
A fourth occupant of the said boat was wanted by police but he subsequently turned himself into police Wednesday morning.
At the court proceeding via Skype, when the charges were read to them by Magistrate Hugh, the men pleaded not guilty and were further remanded to prison until May 7th where they will appear for a second hearing.