A man travelling from Guyana to New York was on Tuesday busted at JFK Airport with ten pounds of cocaine concealed in his suitcase.
Careem Chase Walsh, said to be an American citizen, was charged with knowingly, intentionally and unlawfully importing into the United States from a place outside, a substance containing cocaine. He was granted US$50 000 bail after a court appearance.
According to US court documents, Walsh arrived in the United States on board a Caribbean Airlines flight from Guyana on Tuesday. After his arrival, Customs and Border Protection officers approached him for a routine customs inspection. During the inspection, Walsh acknowledged ownership of a brown ‘Weilangte’ rolling suitcase as well as all of its contents.
He unlocked the suitcase using a key and during the subsequent examination, a Customs officer noticed that the sides of the luggage felt unusually thick. The officer then probed the sides of the suitcase and a white powdery substance, which field tested positive for the presence of cocaine was uncovered.
Walsh was subsequently arrested for importation of narcotics.
The total weight of the cocaine was 4.56 kilos. He is restricted from travelling out of the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York as conditions of bail and also has to seek/maintain employment and/or educational programme. Walsh lives with his mother.
