Accountant pleads not guilty to cocaine charge

A freelance accountant of Campden Park was granted $20,000 bail at the Kingstown Magistrates Court on Monday after pleading not guilty to possession of 1,058 grams of cocaine.{{more}}

Information stated that on September 26, 2008, police nabbed Raphique Baptiste at the Grenadines wharf with the illegal substance.

The prosecution had earlier objected to Baptiste’s bail on the grounds that it was large quantity of drugs and that he would be a flight risk.

Representing Baptiste, Lawyer Ronald Marks told Senior Magistrate Donald Browne that his client had no previous convictions and that there are conditions set by the court once granted bail. The young attorney further added that remanding Baptiste to prison would almost be tantamount to a prison sentence. “It is very unusual if someone be held in custody on a drug matter for that amount,” Marks noted.

The conditions of Baptiste’s bail require that he surrender all his travel documents and that he report to the Questelles Police Station on Mondays and Fridays between 6am and 6pm. The matter was transferred to the Serious Offences Court and adjourned to January 29, 2009 for hearing.(KW)