A US-based Guyanese man is suing Caribbean Airlines after two kilos of cocaine were planted in his suitcase while in the custody of the airline two years ago.
The New York Post has reported that Simeon Wilson, 50, had spent a week in Guyana in October, 2018, celebrating his father’s birthday.
According to the lawsuit, Wilson picked up his bag from the luggage carousel at JFK Airport in New York, but due to his exhaustion from the overnight flight, he didn’t notice that someone had secured a necktie around the handle. It was stated that there was no necktie on the suitcase when Wilson checked it in with Caribbean Airlines at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA).
He was subsequently arrested by customs agents after the cocaine, which was contained in two bags, was found inside the suitcase.
Court documents claimed that Wilson “had never touched, handled, sold or even seen drugs in his life,” and didn’t put them in his own suitcase.
Prosecutors eventually dropped charges against Wilson after determining that his bag had been tampered with while in the sole custody of Caribbean Airlines. By the time his family had bailed him out of jail, however, his reputation in the Queens, New York Guyanese community had been ruined, and he lost his job.
The report added that to date Wilson is frequently pulled aside by customs at airports because his name is flagged and now he has to carry proof that his case was dropped. “I travel with my two hands. I don’t bring no suitcase at all. Nobody can screw with me anymore,” he told The Post.
He is now accusing the airline of negligence. “You go out for a vacation you don’t expect anybody to go and tamper with your bag,” he said.
“What Mr. Wilson went through was a terrible ordeal and he should be compensated for the airline’s negligence,” said his lawyer, Amy Robinson.
She cited the 2012 case of Roger Levans, who sued Delta Airlines after someone allegedly inserted drugs into his bag after he handed it to the airline. “It is particularly outrageous since this has happened to other passengers before,” she said.
Wilson is seeking unspecified damages.
Caribbean Airlines has declined comment, the report said.