A 46-year-old man from Bolivia has been remanded into custody after appearing in court yesterday on 19 credit card fraud and money laundering charges.
Wilson Toro Lazada, ofSanta Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, was not called upon to plead to the indictable charges when he appeared before Chief Magistrate Marcia Ayers-Caesar in the Port-of-Spain Eighth Magistrates' Court yesterday afternoon.
Lazado, a chef and a father of two, was charged with defrauding Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) and First Citizens Bank (FCB) of $16,628.70 between October 3 and November 10. He was slapped with a charge for each of the 17 times he is accused of using forged credit cards to obtain the money from various ATMs of both banks in Port-of-Spain, Maraval, Westmoorings and Diego Martin.
He was also slapped with an additional charge for attempting to transfer $20,000 to Bolivia, using Western Union, knowing the money was criminal property, and for being in possession of 150 forged credit cards with intent to sell them.
Lazado, who was arrested at Monique's Guest House, Saddle Road, Maraval, last week, was charged for having TT$168,408, US$1,251 and EC$2625 and $160 Bolivian bolivianos in his possession, while having reasonable grounds to suspect that the money was criminal property.
He was also given an additional charge for marijuana possession, as a small quantity of the illegal drug was allegedly found during the police's raid on his hotel room.
Lazado, who stood silently in the prisoner enclosure of the courtroom for the duration of the hearing, communicated with Ayers-Caesar using a court ordered Spanish translator.
In applying for bail for Lazado, his attorney Seana Baboolal admitted he had no fixed place of abode in T&T and said he first came to Trinidad in September, then left, and returned in October.
"He can be granted bail under strict conditions. His passport has already been seized," Baboolal said.
While Baboolal claimed her client had a clean record in his home country, police prosecutors asked Ayers-Caesar to wait two weeks until Interpol international criminal tracing was available, before she considered granting bail.
Ayers-Caesar agreed and adjourned the case to December 1.