A man who was arrested by Customs Anti-Narcotic Unit (CANU) officers at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), Timehri has been remanded after he denied trafficking cocaine which was found in fried rice.
Esmond Jermaine Anderson, 28, of #5 village, West Coast, Berbice, appeared at the Diamond/ Grove Magistrate’s Court yesterday when Principal Magistrate Judy Latchman read the charge to him. He was then remanded after denying the trafficking of narcotic charge. The matter was adjourned until March 8.
According to a CANU release, on February 8, 2022, CANU officers intercepted Anderson, who was a passenger at the CJIA and was about to travel on JetBlue Airways Flight 2166 destined for JFK, New York.
The CANU release said that a search of the passenger’s suitcase was conducted in his presence, which resulted in the discovery of a white substance suspected to be cocaine concealed in a bowl with fried rice, after which CANU officers at the CJIA conducted a field test, which revealed that the substance was cocaine. The officers arrested him and he was escorted to the CANU Headquarters where the suspected narcotic, which was subsequently tested and confirmed to be cocaine weighing 2.996 kg (6.605lbs) with a street value of approximately $84,000.00 USD (approximately $17,220,000 GYD).
