(Barbados Nation) Two Guyanese who tried unsuccessfully to smuggle cocaine and cannabis into the island more than two years ago were jailed when they appeared in the No. 1 Supreme Court last Friday.
However, the cook, who was found to be more culpable, was given more time than his co-conspirator.
Coco Ibert Profitt, a cook of Sophia, and Paul Fraser, a sailor, of West Bank Demerara, both in Guyana, were back before Justice Jacqueline Cornelius. They had pleaded guilty at an earlier Session of the Continuous Sittings to possession, trafficking and importation of 14.1 kilos of cocaine, and possession, trafficking and importation of two kilos of cannabis, on September 10, 2015.
The judge convicted, reprimanded and discharged the two smugglers for importation and possession of cannabis and cocaine.
She then jailed Fraser for three years for trafficking in cannabis and five years for trafficking in cocaine, and sent up Profitt for three years for trafficking in cannabis and six for trafficking in cocaine.
However, because Fraser had spent 936 days on remand, he would only spend two years and five months in prison. Profitt, who had spent the same number of days on remand, has to serve three years and five months.
The men were represented by attorney Samuel Legay.
Acting Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Anthony Blackman had told the court police and customs officers, acting on information, boarded the vessel Lady Sandra and found ten packages containing the cocaine and four packages with the marijuana.
The captain and crew, including Fraser and Profitt, were taken to Oistins Police Station.
Profitt later told police he took the risk of bringing in the drugs because he was having financial difficulties.
“I owe a lot of people money,” he told officers.
Fraser, in his statement to police, said he was at home on September 6, 2015, when he received a call from the owner of Lady Sandra asking him to make a trip to Barbados to transport cement.
While he was on board the vessel, Fraser said he passed through the kitchen and saw a brown bag and three black plastic bags. He said he did not know what the bags contained.
Fraser’s statement continued that on September 9, the captain told his crew that the Barbados Coast Guard was going to search the boat and warned them that if they had anything on the boat, they should get rid of it.
