Angelica Forde, the 21-year-old mother of two who admitted that she attempted to smuggle 3.040 kilos of cocaine to Barbados last week, was yesterday fined $8.2 million and jailed for four years.
Forde, of Lot 100 B Mora Street, Vryheid’s Lust, East Coast Demerara, became emotional when Magistrate Zamilla Ally-Seepaul of the Sparendaam Magistrate’s Court handed down the sentence.
The young woman had appeared in court on Monday, charged with having 3.040 kilos of cocaine in her possession for the purpose of trafficking. She was caught by Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) agents at the Eugene F Correia International Airport at Ogle, while going through customs on her way to Barbados.
According to CANU prosecutor Konyo Sandiford, Angelica was spotted at the airport behaving in a suspicious manner. A female CANU officer approached her and took her into a room where she was searched. White packets suspected to be cocaine were discovered strapped to her body. When the substance found on the mother of two was weighed, it amounted to 3.040 kilos of cocaine which has a street value of $8.2 million.
At the time of the incident, Angelica was travelling with her two children, who are one and three years old.
At the time of her arraignment, Angelica’s husband James Forde was also charged with inciting her to traffic the cocaine between May 1 and June 15. He pleaded not guilty and was subsequently remanded to prison with his case adjourned until July 25 for report and fixture.
