Canadian citizen Errol George Laird who was accused of having 1.548kg of cocaine in his possession for the purpose of trafficking at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri, changed his plea to guilty yesterday after he reappeared before acting Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.
Laird was sentenced to three years imprisonment along with a $30,000 fine.
On his first court appearance Laird pleaded not guilty to the offence when it was read to him.
The court was told that the man came to Guyana on September 24 and was staying at a hotel in Subryanville.
On September 30 Laird was returning to Canada via Trinidad when his suitcase was scanned at the airport a strange object was seen. The Customs Anti-Narcotics (CANU) officers at the airport then decided to check the suitcase in the man’s presence. The substance was discovered in a false wall at the bottom of the suitcase. The CANU officers subsequently went to the hotel in which the accused had been staying and another suitcase was discovered which contained the man’s clothing and other belongings.
Speaking with Stabroek News, Attorney Vic Puran who represented Laird said that there was a plea bargain with the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). In this plea agreement, he said that the DPP agreed not to oppose a sentence by the magistrate of a minimum term of three years imprisonment. He added that without a plea agreement Laird would have been looking at a minimum of four years. The attorney also stressed that from the time his client was arrested he co-operated with CANU and gave them certain information. The attorney further said that subsequently two persons were arrested but they were not charged because the drugs were not found in their possession.
Puran noted, however, that his client had provided CANU with new information, including the source of the drugs that he had, so law enforcement is now aware of another trafficking enterprise.
