Remand ends

A pharmacist was on Monday granted $450 000 bail following a short stint on remand at Dodds in connection with over $2 million worth of drugs.

When 60-year-old Roger Arnott McNeil Maynard, of Fortesques, St Philip reappeared before the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court, prosecuting officer Ralph Rollock did not renew his objection to bail but asked that strict conditions be applied, including requiring the accused to surrender his travel documents and report to a police station.

Maynard is accused of importation, possession, possession with intent to supply and trafficking of cannabis on November 25, 2022. He cannot enter pleas to the indictable charges.

In responding to the bail conditions, Michael Lashley K.C. who is representing Maynard in association with attorneys-at-law Simon Clarke and Sade Harris urged the court to be flexible in the reporting conditions as his client was a reputable businessman and a pharmacist with over 30 years’ experience.

“His business takes him out all hours . . . . My client is not a flight risk, has ties to the community. . . has thousands of clients,” said Lashley who asked for the prosecution to proffer statements to the defence at the soonest possible time.

“I know that it takes a lot of time to get statements and files . . . . In this case we have a good defence . . . so we are asking [the prosecutor] to use his good offices to get statements . . . so we can plan our defence.”

After hearing the parties, Acting Magistrate Alison Burke ordered that the accused surrender his passport to the court by 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday and report to the District ‘C’ Police Station every Wednesday between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.

Maynard, who was remanded earlier this month, was given a May 15, 2023 date to return to court.