One of the police officers charged with the kidnapping of businesswoman Natalie Pollonais has been granted bail.
PC Ian Dwarika who was among four people charged with the offence was granted bail in the sum of $300,000 bail by San Fernando Magistrate Kerianne Byer on Wednesday.
Dwarika, 44, who was last attached to the La Romain Police Post.
His attorney Shiva Boodoo made an application for bail on the grounds that Dwarika did not have any previous convictions or any other pending criminal charges. He said Dwarika was charged under the Anti-Kidnapping Act and not the Anti-Gang Act, which meant that his charge was a bailable offence and he was entitled to bail.
There was no objection from the Court Prosecutor Sgt Jhilmit.
As part of his bail conditions, Dwarika has to report to the San Fernando Police Station every day between 6 am to 6 pm.
He was told that he must have no contact with Pollonais either directly or indirectly, not even though social media.
He was also asked to surrender his passport. However, Boodoo said Dwarika had two expired passports which were already in the possession of the police.
Criminal attorney Carl Mattis had made a plea for bail for the other police officer charged with the crime, PC Shaundelle Euin during his last court appearance.
Matthis said Euin is the father of a one-year-old child and has been a police officer for the past four years. He said his client had no previous criminal convictions or pending matters before the court and noted that Euin’s passport had expired. However, the bail was not granted on the last occasion.
The attorney who represented the third accused, Shain Steven, 37, a building contractor, of Inverness Road, Princes Town, was not present. The matter was done via video conferencing with the accused at the prison.
The fourth accused, Gregory James, also known as Roger Duncan, was unrepresented when he appeared in court yesterday. James, of La Brea, who works as a welder, said he applied for a legal aid attorney but was not yet assigned one.
All of the accused, except Dwarika, was remanded into custody to reappear in court on January 2.
Pollonais, 45, of Palmiste was kidnapped on September 6, shortly after leaving the C3 Centre, San Fernando.
A ransom was subsequently made to her family by the kidnappers. Police Commissioner Gary Griffith, who got a tip-off from a citizen, launched a massive intelligence-driven operation.
Four days later, Pollonais was extracted from her captors in a white Nissan AD Wagon which was proceeding along the Churchill Roosevelt Highway near the Courts Megastore on September 10.