Roger Khan appeals no-bail decision
Stabroek News
January 24, 2007
Businessman Roger Khan has filed an appeal in a US court against the decision of a New York judge to deny him bail on his drug indictment charge.
According to court documents seen by this newspaper the appeal was filed this week. There is no indication as to when it will come up for hearing.
On January 16 US District Court Judge Dora L. Irizarry denied bail to Khan, saying that she did not find that the defence had provided sufficient facts that Khan will be present for the duration of the hearing if granted bail.
In addition the judge said there is probable cause to believe Khan committed the charge listed in the indictment.
The prosecution led by US Attorney Roslynn Mauskopf has also indicated to the court that they have close to 800 pages of evidence on Khan, wire taps and witness testimonies from Guyana and persons in the US who have been around Khan while he allegedly ran his drug trafficking organisation.
The judge also said Khan's case is a complex one and since he faces a maximum of life imprisonment he is a flight risk. She recapped how Khan fled the US when he was facing charges with lighter sentences and failed to return on his own to answer those charges.
Khan also faces a superseding indictment which the judge requested be presented to her by the next court date scheduled for late February.
Khan's lawyers in applying for bail had indicated to the court that they were willing to post bail of US$3M secured by property as well as at least 10 guarantors to sign a bond. The defence had also agreed to pay for electronic monitoring and or the costs of a private security firm to monitor Khan's presence in a relative's home in Long Island if he was admitted to bail
Khan is charged with conspiring to import cocaine into the US between January 2001 and March 2006. The US alleges that he is the leader of a cocaine trafficking organisation based in Georgetown. It also asserts that he was able to import huge amounts of cocaine into Guyana and then oversee its exportation to the US and elsewhere.