Bail has been denied for a 24-year-old Canadian national charged with one count of unlaw­ful possession of illicit drugs.

Joshua Aziz Rahman appeared before Judge Justice Daniel Goundar yesterday.

It is alleged that on February 14, 2019, in Caubati, Suva, Rahman was found in possession of 39.5 kilograms of illicit drugs, namely cocaine.

The raid was conducted at the accused person’s home in Caubati on February 14, where the discov­ery of 39 bars of white powder was discovered and later tested positive to be cocaine worth more than $30 million.

Justice Goundar denied bail for the accused on the grounds that the accused as a foreigner did not have strong community ties in Fiji. The court also heard that the prosecution had a strong case against Rahman who travelled frequently between Fiji, New Zea­land, Canada and Mexico.

Justice Goundar said it was not in the interest of justice to grant bail to the accused as the charges laid against him were serious.

State prosecutor from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecu­tions Assistant DPP Andrew Jack sought for 14 days to file the pro­posed agreed facts.

Defence lawyer Ashniel Nadan sought for 14 days thereafter to file the response to the proposed agreed facts.

Mr Nadan also told the court that as of yesterday (Thursday) the defence would not challenge the caution interview. However, Mr Nadan told the court that once he sees the video recording, then he would be in a position to advise the court if the defence will chal­lenge the caution interview and file voir dire if necessary.

The case has been adjourned to April 30 for pre-trial conference.

Rahman was remanded in cus­tody pending trial.

Edited by Susana Tuilau

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