Two passengers were nabbed separately yesterday at the Timehri airport with approximately 20 kilogrammes of suspected cocaine in tamarind achar.
A release from the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), Timehri said that at 15:45h, a check of the baggage of 77 year-old Winston Blake, a United States citizen, unearthed two packages of achar. The suspected cocaine – over 10 kilos – was concealed in tamarind seeds.
The release said that similarly, Guyanese citizen, Sadeeka Odie, 38, was apprehended around 17:10 h after packages of achar with suspected cocaine in the shape of tamarind seeds was also found.
Both passengers were en route to New York City on Caribbean Airlines. The seizures of the suspected illegal substance are the first for February, the CJIA release said.
In January, it said that a Canadian citizen was caught with 9.5 kilogrammes of cocaine while in-transit at CJIA. He flew from Trinidad and Tobago. The drugs were discovered in false walls in his checked luggage.
The release said that Law Enforcement Agencies must be lauded for these detections which saw the suspected cocaine being cleverly made in the form of tamarind seeds and placed in achar.
It said that it was a stark reminder of the lengths to which those involved in the narco-trade would go to move the drugs through local ports.
In the past, drugs were concealed in pepper sauce, star-apple, pumpkin, cabbage, chowmein, ochro, false walls and bottoms of suitcases, shoe soles, wigs among others.
