By STACY MOORE Wednesday, October 14 2009

THE two men charged last week with stealing $4.7 worth in materials from a hardware store in Marabella and storing them at their homes in Princes Town for the past nine months, were yesterday granted bail in the sum of $250,000 each by a San Fernando magistrate.

Mohan Ramdass, 36 of Mandingo Road and Harry Ramoutar, 57, of Lothians Road, were arrested last Thursday when search warrants were executed at their respective homes.

Both men were charged by PC Khemraj Sahadeo of the Marabella Police Station. They appeared before magistrate Alicia Chankar who remanded them into custody pending a tracing of their criminal record.

Yesterday, Ramdass and Ramoutar appeared before Indra Ramoo-Haynes in the First San Fernando Magistrate’s Court. The magistrate granted them bail. However, she ordered that the bail be approved by a Clerk of the Peace.

Police court prosecutor Sgt Joey Samaroo informed the magistrate that tracing done on both men revealed that they had no pending, or previous convictions.

Samaroo also informed the magistrate that there was no objection to bail, but the court should take into consideration the high value of the items allegedly stolen.

The stolen goods included welding machines, doors, pumps, compressors, gypsum, electric saws, valued at $4,750,000.

Ramoutar and Ramdass’s homes were searched by police officers after the owner of the store reported the items missing to the Marabella Police Station.

The hardware items were removed by police officers who had to utilise the service of ten trucks. The stolen items were also photographed.

Both men would reappear in court on October 23.