Gilbert Bristol, the exporter who was accused in 2012 of trying to ship $2 billion in cocaine hidden in fish food bound for China, died at the Georgetown Hospital after a prolonged illness.
Sources confirmed to this newspaper yesterday, that Bristol died recently in hospital where he was a patient with a natural ailment. Efforts by Stabroek News to make contact with his relatives were unsuccessful.
Bristol, of 154 Garnett Street, Newtown, Kitty, was remanded to prison when he was charged despite a petition by his lawyer for him to be placed on bail owing to a medical condition. Stabroek News understands that he
was on remand at the time of his death.
It was alleged by the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) that on December 7, at the GNSC Wharf, Bristol had in his possession 233 kilogrammes of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking.
CANU special prosecutor Oswald Massiah had told the court that Bristol arrived at the wharf and identified himself as an exporter and he stood at all times overlooking the packing of three containers, which contained 1,500 bags of fish food in total.
Massiah had further said that after the container was scanned by officials of CANU and the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), a strange image appeared on the screen, which prompted a search. It uncovered that eight of the 1,500 bags contained a whitish substance suspected to be cocaine.
