A Japanese national and a local man were jailed on Tuesday after they were found guilty of cocaine and ganja trafficking by Magistrate Krishndat Persaud at the Springlands Court.
Dennis Martodikromo, 32 of Japan and Errol Bristol, 44, of Savannah Park, New Amsterdam were sentenced to a total of eight years each, on two narcotics trafficking charges.
They were also fined $3 million.
The court heard that on March 23, the men had in their possession a kilogramme of cocaine and 240 grammes of cannabis sativa. Martodikromo, who is a carpenter from Suriname, and Bristol made their first court appearance on March 24. They pleaded not guilty to the offence and were remanded to prison.
At the conclusion of the trial, both men were found guilty for both offences. For the cocaine charge, Magistrate Persaud sentenced them to four years and fined them $3 million each.
Further they were sentenced to four years and fined $10,000 for the trafficking in cannabis charge.
The sentences would run concurrently.
In presenting the facts, police prosecutor Sergeant Michael Grant told the court that on the day in question police were on a patrol when they noticed a Triple ‘S’ taxi parked in front of a gas station at Springlands.
Upon investigations, they noticed the men acting in a suspicious manner and immediately conducted a search. The drugs were found under the seat in the rear of the vehicle and they men were arrested and charged.
