An American citizen was reunited with his new wife yesterday after being found not guilty of trying to smuggle cocaine on to an outbound flight to the United States.
Jermaine Carter was told by Magistrate Judy Latchman in Georgetown that he was being cleared of the charge of having in his possession seven kilos of cocaine in packets of powdered milk that were found in his luggage.
Carter, who stood in the prisoners’ dock and his wife, who was seated in the public gallery could both be heard giving praises to God for the ruling.
Carter raised his hands to the heavens and pelted a kiss upward in gratitude after the decision was announced.
Carter, a father of six, had come to Guyana where he had gotten married and was about to board a Dynamic Airways flight to head back home to the United States when he was slapped with the charge.
Reviewing the evidence, Magistrate Latchman said that the prosecution’s case could not prove beyond reasonable doubt that Carter was guilty of the charge levelled against him.
She said that during the trial Carter had always maintained his innocence and that his suitcases had not been padlocked and were out of his sight for some time as they passed through baggage scanners at the airport on conveyer belts. The court surmised that during this time, anyone could have unzipped and placed the illegal substances in the defendant’s luggage.
In the circumstances, Magistrate Latchman said that the man was found not guilty of the offence.
Carter and his wife constantly hugged and kissed each other in the courtyard after he had exited the chute and the handcuffs were removed from his hands.
Carter resides on Liberty Avenue in New York.
The charge against the man stated that on July 4, at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport he had 7.057 kilogrammes of cocaine in his possession for the purpose of trafficking.
It was the prosecution’s case that just after midnight on the day in question, Carter had checked-in two suitcases as he prepared to board a Dynamic Airways flight bound for Piarco Airport.
Prosecutor Stephen Telford had said Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) sniffer dogs, which were present at the airport, sniffed the luggage and indicated the presence of narcotics. The owner of the luggage was identified as Carter and the two suitcases were searched. The search revealed that there were three packets of Kerrygold milk powder. In Carter’s presence, the packages were opened and revealed what the ranks suspected to be cocaine. He was notified of the suspicion, arrested and charged.
Carter, throughout his trial, had told the court that he had packed his suitcases himself and he was shocked after being approached by investigators who told him about what they had unearthed in his luggage.
The man had said that he had packed no milk packets.
