Five people, including a woman and a 15-year-old boy, appeared in court yesterday, charged with being in illegal possession of an AK-47 assault rifle and 48 rounds of ammunition. But their court appearance was very low-key, compared with their arrests last Thursday when acting Commissioner of Police James Philbert, at a news conference, announced that the police had foiled a plot by local terrorists to disrupt the May 24 general election. But the five people who appeared in court were not charged with anything else except the gun and ammunition charges. Attorney Keith Scotland, who represented three of the defendants, said the five had been detained for too long. He said this was a case of simple possession, and pointed out that the defendants had not been linked to anything else in the country.
The five who appeared before Magistrate Indar Jagroop in the Port-of-Spain First Magistrates' Court, were Cofi O'Brien, 27, and his common-law wife, Jamilla Quan Singh, 22, both of Mc Kenzie Drive, Point Cumuna, Carenage; Dwayne Boucaud, 21, of Ariapita Road, St Ann's; Osayaba Mohammed, 28, of Thornhill Street, Belmont, and the 15-year-old secondary school student. It was alleged that on May 13, at Mc Kenzie Drive, Point Cumuna, the five had in their possession, an AK-47 rifle and 48 rounds of ammunition.
Scotland, who appeared with Daniel Khan, John Heath, and Jonathan Murray, then pleaded for bail for the defendants. He asked that the court be cleared so he could deal with the student. This was done. The boy's parents were allowed to remain in court as Scotland said that the teenager was preparing to choose his subjects for Form Four at secondary school. He said the boy was not a limer and was monitored by his parents. The magistrate inquired from the boy's stepfather, a fireman, if this was in fact so. He then granted the boy $100,000 bail to be approved by the Clerk of the Peace.
The magistrate also granted bail to the others in the sum of $100,000. Their passports must be surrendered as a condition for bail, while the three men must report to the police station in their district every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, between 7 am and 7 pm. The magistrate warned that if the conditions were not met, bail would be revoked. The reporting condition did not apply to Quan Singh, who according to her attorney Heath, was hospitalised after she was detained. Heath said his client suffered from epilepsy and was only released from hospital on Monday. Because the matter ended at 3.30 pm, it was touch-and-go to see if the bail would be granted yesterday afternoon before closing time of the court. The case was then adjourned to May 28.