Westmoorings 2 still in prison, unable to post bail

THE TWO women who were yesterday granted $12 million bail on charges which resulted from last week's multi-million-dollar drug bust at an apartment at Regents Gardens, Westmoorings, remain in prison custody.

The two, Krystiana Sankar and Yannis Pebbles Augustine, have been unable to access the $6 million bail they were each granted on Monday by Port of Spain magistrate Aden Stroude.

Up to midday, Newsday was told it was not likely they will do so before the end of the day.

Lawyers representing the two, as well as Atiba Eligon, who was also charged, are expected to approach the High Court with an application to have the sum reduced for the women as well as considered for Eligon. The “bail judge” sits on Friday in the High Court to consider bail applications.

A fourth accused, Jervon Cole, was denied bail until Monday to give the police time to investigate a new address he gave in court yesterday to determine if he is to be granted bail.

Sankar, 24, the owner of a tent rental company and an internet clothing store, of Blue Range, Diego Martin, was ordered to report to the West End police station every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Her bail is also to be approved by a clerk of the peace III.

The same conditions were attached to the bail granted to Augustine, 26, a lifeguard, of St Lucien Road, Diego Martin. She cried continuously after Stroude announced the bail amount just after 2 pm yesterday.

According to the evidence presented on Friday, the drugs – 1.04 kilogrammes of cocaine and 191.66 kilogrammes of marijuana – carried a total street value of $3.8 million: $400,000 for the cocaine and $3.4 million for the marijauana.

All four accused have been jointly charged with possession of marijuana and cocaine for the purpose of trafficking.

Sankar faced an additional charge of possession of a firearm and ammunition allegedly found in her apartment.

They were charged on Thursday by a high-level team of investigators from the Organised Crime and Intelligence Unit, police said in a statement. A fifth person, the driver of a BMW who was arrested away from the drug-bust scene, was released from custody after consultation with the DPP.

The raid which led to the arrest of the four was led by Police Commissioner Gary Griffith and was made by officers from the new Special Operations Response Team (SORT).

The accused are represented by attorneys Larry Williams, Criston J Williams, Shirvani Ramkissoon, and Samuel Thomas.