Five in river crash remanded to jail via SKYPE for narcotics

The five men who were remanded to prison earlier today

Boat captain 39-year-old Marvin Kissoon

Five men were today remanded to prison by magistrate Peter Hugh when they appeared in the New Amsterdam Magistrate Court charged with possession of narcotics for the purpose of trafficking.

Those remanded are the same men who were involved in a boat crash in the Berbice River Tuesday evening which resulted in the death of four persons.

20-year-old Kevin Archer

23-year-old Ramnarine Punwasie

51-year-old Carl Williams

The development was first reported as a River Mishap but now being regarded by police and other sources as a deliberate act perpetrated by the five men who though at the time, police officers were in the other boat and such, reportedly running it over with their larger boat.

Remanded to jail today were Boat captain 39-year-old Marvin Kissoon, 20-year-old Kevin Archer, 23-year-old Ramnarine Punwasie, 51-year-old Carl Williams and 38-year-old Natram Punwasie. Punwasie was first missing in action but later turned himself over to the police.

They were first arrested on Wednesday hours after the crash. When the police swooped down on the location, a quantity of narcotics which was also on-board their vessel at the time of the crash

38-year-old Natram Punwasie

The men hail from the communities of Maria Emrita, Palymyra, Adelphi, and Sheet Anchor, all in Berbice.

Their court appearance was done via skype and they are expected to return to court on May 07, 2020.