Man in court for cocaine in cologne box

A 54-year-old man who was held at the Port Authority car park on Wrightson Road, Port-of-Spain, as he waited to hand over cocaine valued at $200,000, has been denied bail and remanded in custody. Appearing before Magistrate Marcia Murray in the Port-of-Spain First Court on Friday, Jamshead Hassanali was not called upon to plead to the charge that on March 13, at the Government Shipping Services (GSS) public car park, he had cocaine in his possession for the purpose of trafficking.

Hassanali, of Nanan Trace, Aranguez, was also charged for driving without a permit and insurance. He pleaded guilty to both charges. The case was adjourned to Wednesday. Hassanali was arrested by PC Cris Sookhoo and Cpl Nolton Joseph around 2.15 pm on March 13, after they saw him standing by his pickup truck, acting in a suspicious manner.

As police approached the truck, which had been parked in the GSS car park, Hassanali reportedly threw a black plastic bag containing a purple Calvin Klein Euphoria men’s cologne box onto the back seat. Asked what was in the bag, Hassanali allegedly said: “That’s a little bit of drugs.” Police found 500 grammes of cocaine packed inside.

Asked who he had been intending to give the drugs to, Hassanali said: “A man from South was coming to collect it.” He could not give the man’s name.