Acting Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry sentenced a 21-year-old British national who ingested cocaine for the purpose of trafficking to four years jail and fined him $30,000 after he pleaded guilty to the charge.
According to the facts of the case, Nishit Nitin Patel, of Lot 18 Atlee Close, Thornton Heath England, on December 31, had 352 grammes of cocaine in his possession at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport. He pleaded guilty to the charge when it was read to him. In his defence, he told the court, “Your Worship, my mother was having a very hard time back home. My mum was going to get kicked out the house because she could not pay the rent, so I decided to come down here and make some money to help her out.”
Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) Prosecutor Oswald Massiah said that on December 27, Patel travelled to