Joshua Aziz Rahman.

Prominent Suva lawyer Devanesh Sharma will be the new legal counsel for Canadian national Joshua Aziz Rahman.

Rahman who is charged with one count of unlawful possession of illicit drugs was produced in the Suva High Court this morning.

It is alleged that he has had in his possession, 39 bars of a white substance weighing 39.5 kilograms with an estimated street value of $31 million.

The bars were allegedly recovered in February last year when police raided Rahman’s home in Caubati, Nasinu, and later tested positive for cocaine.

The change in lawyers was necessary as Rahman’s previous counsel is stuck in Melbourne, Australia due to COVID-19.

Defense told the court they are not in a position to take a trial date as yet and so the matter will be called for mention on the 9th of next month.