Three persons including a woman are in police custody after the discovery of over 17 kilogrammes of cocaine concealed in a box of ceramic ornaments as it was being checked by police in preparation for shipment at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) Timehri.
While police said in a release yesterday that the total quantity has not yet been ascertained Stabroek News was reliably informed that the cocaine weighed a total of 17 kilogrammes 727 grammes. Sources said the box of the cocaine-filled ceramics was to be placed on an Amerijet flight and was destined for Ireland.
Police said in their press release that around 08:10 hrs ranks of the Police Narcotics Branch conducted a search on cargo contained in an airline bond at the CJIA during which cocaine was found in ceramic ornaments. There is no available information on the pieces of ceramics ornaments that were contained in the box.
The release added that two men and a woman have been arrested and are in police custody assisting with the investigations.
This is the latest in a string of innovations that drug traffickers have used to get cocaine out of Guyana. So far they have tried soap power, fruits, vegetables, alcohol, eatables such as pastries, wigs, false wall of suitcases and shoes among others. This is the first known case of ornaments being used to export cocaine. Several years ago cocaine was found concealed in a number of Kunds (receptacles used in Hindu religious ceremonies) in a house at Enmore. It is unclear whether there were plans to ship them out of the country.
