Two timber co. workers charged over container cocaine

By Andre Haynes On In Guyana News |
Some of the parcels of cocaine that were found in hollowed out timber logs which were being prepared for shipment to The Netherlands. They indicate meticulous preparation.
Some of the parcels of cocaine that were found in hollowed out timber logs which were being prepared for shipment to The Netherlands. They indicate meticulous preparation.

Two employees of Guyana Timber Products Inc were today charged in connection with the 359.8 kilos of cocaine discovered in a container destined for Holland last month.

Raymon Ghani and Dominic Walsh were released on $350,000 bail each by Magistrate Alan Wilson at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court, where they were charged with trafficking in narcotics.

They will return to court on April 8.

The container in which the packaged cocaine was uncovered had been sitting at a city wharf for several days although abnormalities were picked up during scanning by the Guyana revenue Authority (GRA).

Some of the parcels of cocaine that were found in hollowed out timber logs which were being prepared for shipment to The Netherlands. They indicate meticulous preparation.
Some of the parcels of cocaine that were found in hollowed out timber logs which were being prepared for shipment to The Netherlands. They indicate meticulous preparation.

Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) ranks were subsequently informed that there were things wrong with the container and it was escorted on February 19 from the wharf to the company’s Soesdyke headquarters, where each log in the container was searched. The hollow logs were subsequently found with packets of cocaine concealed inside. As many as 20 packets were found in a single log.

The drugs were destined for Holland, where the value is estimated at approximately US$25,000 ($5 million) per kilogramme.

Four persons, including a Dutch national were held in connection with the discovery but they were all later released without charge. The matter was later sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for advice.