A 45-year-old Tanzanian man who allegedly had in his possession 909 grammes of cocaine was remanded to prison when he appeared at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court yesterday.
Howard Lee Eton (no address given) pleaded not guilty when Principal Magistrate Melissa Robertson-Ogle read the charge of trafficking in narcotics to him.
It is alleged that on June 9 at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), Timehri Eton had in his possession 909 grammes of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking.
The accused told the magistrate that he is a solar technician and is working on projects in several countries. According to him, he came to Guyana to register his business and was not told what he was being charged with before he appeared in court.
Eton explained that he is a psychiatric patient and requested to be allowed to see a doctor since he no longer has any medication to use.
He was refused bail and the matter was transferred to Court for June 16.
Eton is the US citizen who was allegedly found with a quantity of cocaine strapped to his crotch when he was about to wing out of Guyana on Monday at the CJIA.
It was previously reported that Eton was an outgoing passenger on a Caribbean Airlines flight 462 around ten o’clock Monday morning when he was spotted acting suspiciously and approached by members of the Police Narcotics Branch. The cocaine was found strapped to his crotch. He was arrested by airport security before being handed over to the ranks of the Criminal Investigation Department.