Police yesterday arrested three airport workers and are seeking another in relation to the 1.3 kilogrammes of cocaine that was found in New York aboard a Dynamic Airlines flight which left Guyana on February 2nd.
Stabroek News was told by officials close to the investigations that three immigration officers were in police custody, while a wanted bulletin has been issued for a baggage handler, Kennard Stephen De Jonge, of Roraima Airways, which is the ground handler for Dynamic Airlines here.
Head of Roraima Airways Gerry Gouveia yesterday confirmed that one of his employees was being held and another was sought.
All of the persons arrested were on duty on the day the flight with the drug departed Guyana.
Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum confirmed that three persons were in police custody.
Sources say that the three persons in custody have given statements pertaining to their involvement in the crime.
Meanwhile, police said De Jonge, 33, of Lot 59 BB Eccles Park, East Bank Demerara, is wanted for questioning in relation to possession of narcotics for the purpose of trafficking on February 2 at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), Timehri. Anyone with information that may lead to his arrest is asked to contact the police on telephone numbers 225-1111, 227-2128, 227-1149, 225-6411, 226-7065, 911 or at the nearest police station. A John F Kennedy Airport baggage handler had discovered the cocaine in a small unidentified package in the cargo hold of the plane.
Head of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) James Singh had also confirmed that the drug was found in the holding compartment of the plane in New York and said his agency was currently undertaking investigations from this end. It is believed that the drug was smuggled onto the plane by someone who was not a passenger as it was found not in luggage, but by itself in the baggage hold
The CJIA and Dynamic Airways’ local handler Roraima Airways worked in collaboration with CANU and the Guyana Police Force on the matter.
“We are waiting to get more details out of New York but we are doing investigations here on what happened at CJIA,” Gouveia had told Stabroek News.
In 2012, a Roraima Airways employee who was attached to the Aviation Security Division, was charged after being allegedly found with 1.8kg of cocaine on his person at the airport. A Commission of Inquiry, ordered by Gouveia, did not find any wrongdoing on the company’s part although it suggested human resources lapses.
