Drug trafficking accused remanded

Two Barbadians and a Vincentian man who says he has no passport because he was in a hurry to travel are now on remand at Her Majesty’s Prison Dodds.

Forty-nine-year-old Hamilton MacDonald Branch, a fisherman, from Sherbourne Number 3, St John; 46-year-old Edward Dacosta Gollop, a vendor, from School Road, Halls Road, St Michael and 38-year-old Iroy Mactoba Hendrickson, a farmer, from of Petit Bordel, St Vincent appeared before Chief Magistrate Christopher Birch this morning charged with possession, trafficking, possession with intent to supply and importation of 268 pounds cannabis within Barbados’ territorial waters.

The illegal substance had an estimated $487,600 street value.

The accused, were not required to plea to the indictable charges and will reappear before the District ‘C’ Magistrates’ Court on June 27.

Police say the Barbados Coast Guard intercepted the men aboard a fishing vessel, approximately 0.75 miles off Consett Bay, St John around 10:36 a.m. on Monday.

Station Sargeant Peter Barrow objected to bail based on the nature and seriousness of the charges.

According to the prosecutor, Branch is currently on bail for a similar charge and his antecedents show a propensity for such offences.

Gollop he says is also on bail. The accused confirmed Barrow’s submission telling the Chief Magistrate he is on bail from the Supreme Court on drug and firearm offences.

The Vincentian Hendrickson the prosecutor said does not have any local ties to Barbados and the prosecution feared that he would abscond from the jurisdiction if bail was granted.

Asked by Chief Magistrate Birch whether he had a passport to confirm his identity, Hendricks replied “no sir” and went on the say that he did not have the document because “I was travelling in a hurry”.

In his application for bail, Gollop’s attorney Andrew Pilgrim, Q.C., argued, among other things that measures could be put in place by the court to ensure that the accused returns for his hearings on the given dates. Pilgrim also submitted that the nature and seriousness of the charges and the pending matters before the court were not enough to deny Gollop his pretrial freedom at this time.