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Deported
Roger Khan ‘bodyguards’ fined for
illegal departure
THE three alleged bodyguards of United States accused drug trafficker Roger Khan were each fined $20,000 yesterday when they changed their pleas and admitted departing Guyana illegally. Paul
Rodrigues, 31, of Lot 14 ‘B’ Shell Road, Kitty, Sean Belfield, 27,
of Lot 23 Queen Street, Kitty and Lloyd Roberts, 25, of Lot 3536 North
Ruimveldt, all Georgetown addresses, pleaded guilty to leaving this
country from a port not authorised for that immigration purpose. However, Defence Counsel Glen Hanoman said Roberts, who, like Rodrigues and Belfield, was deported here from Suriname last week, is suffering from chicken pox.
On
November 27, when the trio first appeared in the same court, they had
pleaded not guilty and were individually put on $35,000 bail. After
the men changed their stance yesterday, Hanoman asked that the minimum
fine be imposed on them. The
lawyer said all three men had served the Guyana Police Force (GPF) with
distinction for a number of years and, only a while back, Rodrigues won
the ‘Best Cop’ award. Hanoman
contended that they had already been punished for the offence and, after
recently being dismissed from the GPF, spent three days in prison since
their deportation. He
said he did not include the punishment they suffered in Suriname jails. But
Hanoman claimed the three men were afraid for their lives and that
caused them to depart Guyana in such a manner, across the Corentyne
River, between June 15 and 16. Defence
Counsel, pointing out that the Surinamese authorities did not even
charge them for illegal entry, appealed to Mr. Sullivan to take into
consideration the spirit of the season which the deportees would want to
enjoy with their relatives. Police
Inspector Lloyd Thomas, prosecuting, said, under the law, persons
pleading guilty to such offences are usually made to pay individual
fines not exceeding $40,000 or imprisoned for not more than 12 months. The
Prosecutor said Rodrigues, Belfield and Roberts were charged in Guyana
and the court ought not to compare how Suriname dealt with them. The three were arrested in that neighbouring republic during an arms and drugs bust and, since then, Khan was flown to the U.S. where he remains incarcerated, pending trial on drug trafficking charges.
Sunday, December 03, 2006 |
