Judge calls for port scanners

A HIGH COURT judge has called for fully functional scanners at the nation’s ports, and along the south-western coast, to alleviate the entry of prohibited goods entering the country.

Justice Frank Seepersad made the call after he ruled against a D’Abadie car dealer and his father who filed a malicious prosecution against the state when Customs and Excise Division officers charged them with importing 440 kilogrammes of marijuana in a shipment of cars and car parts.

Rattan and Richard Ramkissoon and their company Ramkissoon and Sons Parts Limited sued the State for almost $1 million in compensation.

After the father and son were charged in 2007, the magisterial case against them was eventually dismissed in 2011 after Customs officers failed to appear in court to prosecute the matter.