High Court refuses bail for alleged drug trafficker
The High Court on Friday refused a bail application by Michael Andrew Morgan after finding that no special reasons exist for the granting of bail.
Morgan, 52, of Lot 142 Ixora Avenue, Eccles, East Bank Demerara (EBD), was in June slapped with a drug trafficking charge after he was allegedly found with 3.278 kilograms of cocaine in his possession.
During his first court appearance before Magistrate Sunil Scarce in the Diamond/Grove Magistrate’s Court, Morgan denied the charge and was remanded to prison. The case is fixed for September 27, 2022, for continuation.
In his oral arguments before Justice Gino Persaud, Morgan’s Attorney-at-Law Glenn Hanoman advanced that the bail application is based on the “unreasonable delay” in the start of his client’s trial.
According to the lawyer, the prosecution had sought an adjournment on the ground that the analyst report was incomplete even though it was completed.
Hanoman also contended that the Customs Anti-Narcotic Unit (CANU) has evidential problems, including establishing a nexus. Still, Justice Persaud found that these evidential issues are not relevant factors to consider for granting bail.
Attorney-at-Law Thalia Thompson, who appeared for CANU, argued that no special reasons were advanced or shown warranting the ground of bail.
She also said that the matters raised by Hanoman are contentious issues of fact suitable for trial and not a bail hearing. She also contended that there has been no delay but an argument of presumed delay in the future. The High Court Judge agreed with her arguments.
“It is premature at this stage to argue unreasonable delay. I do not find that there is any unreasonable delay,” Justice Persaud held as he refused the bail application.
MTV News Update previously reported that CANU ranks went to Morgan’s home and conducted a search in his presence. During the search, the cocaine, one .32 Taurus firearm, one magazine, and 25 matching .32 rounds were discovered.
The 52-year-old man was escorted to CANU’s Headquarters, where the narcotics were confirmed to be cocaine and amounted to 3.278 kilograms. It had a street value of approximately $3.5 million.
Andrew is the brother of convicted drug trafficker Peter Morgan, who was released from a United States prison in 2015 after serving a 10-year sentence for conspiring to import, possess and distribute cocaine between December 2001 and August 2003.
