An American woman who had heroin in condoms concealed in her privates pleaded guilty on Friday to the charge of trafficking in narcotics when it was read to her by Magistrate Hazel Octive-Hamilton at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court.
On May 6 at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri Ajar Bourne had in her possession 1 kilogramme, 22 grammes of heroin for the purpose of trafficking.
The police prosecutor explained to the court that on the day in question, ranks were conducting a pat search on passengers listed to travel to the United States on Caribbean Airlines Flight 424 when Bourne was spotted by the police and it was observed that she was wearing a girdle suspected to have drugs.
The prosecutor said Bourne was arrested and after further searches were carried out on her person, two condoms were found inserted in her privates containing the narcotics.
The prosecutor added that Bourne was cautioned, told of the allegation, and admitted in a caution statement to the police that she had the narcotics in her possession.
Pleading guilty, Bourne told the court that she never intended to take drugs back to the United States but she was doing it only because she was forced to do so by persons she called “them.”
When asked by the magistrate who these people were, Bourne said she herself did not even know.
Magistrate Octive-Hamilton then asked the defendant, “You are standing there trying to tell me and want me to believe that you don’t know who it was that had given you heroin to export? This is total nonsense…, I can’t believe that. It is just not logical.”
The magistrate asked further, “How possible is it for someone to insert condoms containing heroin into your vagina without revealing their identity? And you not be able to say who it was that did it?”
Bourne said it was her first visit to Guyana and she came to see a friend. However, she said, she was locked in her hotel room and followed by “a lady” everywhere she went. Bourne was also unable to properly identify the friend she said she had come to Guyana to visit.
The unrepresented Bourne was then remanded to prison until May 15.
