A Guyanese woman was on Monday remanded into custody in a New York Court after she was busted on Thanksgiving Day attempting to smuggle 7.5 lbs pounds of cocaine packed in the false bottom of her suitcase into the United States.
Chitraoutie Persaud was busted on November 28th at the JFK Airport after arriving on Caribbean Airlines flight 424 from Guyana, according to court documents seen by Stabroek News.
According to US Special Agent Donald Farrier the woman was stopped for a routine search by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers and she presented a gray ‘Challenger’ suitcase for inspection. When the officers inspected the suitcase they discovered an unusually thick bottom. The woman was then escorted to a private search area and the bag was probed.
A white powdery substance which field-tested positive for cocaine was discovered. The woman was then arrested and the cocaine was weighed at 3,732.4 grams.
Persaud appeared before Chief Magistrate Judge Steven M. Gold on December 2 and was remanded to prison.
Even though local authorities have said they have beefed up security at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri persons continue to elude the security checks and cocaine continues to leave the country. Early last month, Joseph Alpha Lewis was busted at JFK with 6,589 grammes of cocaine, which was packaged into small balls and dunked into a bottle of pepper sauce. And in late October, Kenny Ritchie was busted attempting to smuggle some 3.360 kilogrammes of cocaine sewn into two girdles he was wearing
