ANOTHER crewmember of the Army flagship 'GDFS Essequibo' testified yesterday when the preliminary inquiry (PI) into the charges that followed the drug bust on board the naval vessel continued before Magistrate Maxwell Edwards.
Chief Petty Officer Laurence Sinclair, of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Coast Guard, was led through his evidence-in-chief by State Counsel Simone Bullen, one of the two lawyers from the chambers of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) prosecuting.
The witness was also cross-examined by Defence Counsel Vic Puran before the pre-trial proceedings were adjourned to Tuesday, November 18.
In the case, Wayne Inniss, of Lot 130 Lamaha Springs, Georgetown and Shandy Stephens, of Lot 118 Dacama Circle, Mackenzie, Linden, are jointly charged with conspiracy to traffick in 60 kilogrammes 681 grammes of cannabis (marijuana) between May 1 and 11 this year.
Inniss alone faces a separate charge of trafficking the same amount of marijuana by exporting it.
The narcotic was discovered aboard the 'GDFS Essequibo' when it docked in Barbados to participate in the Caribbean regional 'Exercise Tradewinds'.
Both ex-soldiers, who remain remanded prisoners, were dishonourably discharged from the GDF after an internal probe and handed over to Police for the criminal investigation.
They were originally charged summarily but, last August 12, the DPP instituted the present charges and the others were put down sine die (indefinitely).