A man was yesterday sentenced to three years in jail and fined $19.7 million after being found guilty of having a large quantity of cannabis as well as a quantity of cocaine in his possession for trafficking.
Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan handed down the sentence to Randy Chester, 24, in Georgetown, at the conclusion of his trial for the possession of 22 kilogrammes of cannabis and 2.740 kilogrammes of cocaine.
Chester, who was represented by attorney Amoura Giddings, was found guilty after the court found that he provided an incriminating statement to the Customs Anti-Narcotic Unit (CANU) officers that he collected the salt bags containing drugs and loaded them into a truck for them to be taken to the Berbice Bridge to be collected.
The magistrate, however, freed his alleged accomplice, Christopher Garraway, of the charge after finding that the evidence provided was insufficient. The court recognised that the CANU rank who testified that he had Garraway under surveillance before during other operations could not be relied upon, and due to suspicions raised during cross-examination by Garraway’s attorney, Siand Dhurjon.
In accordance with the law, the magistrate fined Chester three times the street value of the narcotics found. CANU’s attorney, Narissa Leander, submitted to the court the street value of the drugs was $6,596,000.
It had been alleged that on January 16, 2020, at John Fernandes Limited, Back Road, West Ruimveldt, the duo had the narcotics in their possession for the purpose of trafficking. Both men had pleaded not guilty to the charge.
