Convicted drug traffickers who are unable or unwilling to pay fines imposed along with their sentences are either required to spend additional time in jail or have their assets confiscated by the state through the relevant law enforcement agencies.
Often times, the fines imposed by the courts are hefty amounts.
Section 4 of the Narcotic Drug and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act states that “any person who has in his possession any narcotic, or any substance represented or held out by him to be a narcotic, shall be liable – on summary conviction, to a fine of not less than thirty thousand dollars together or three times the market value of the narcotic, together with imprisonment for not less than three years nor more than five years”.
In a recent interview with Stabroek News, Court Superintendent of Region 4A, Superintendent of Police Shellon Daniels explained that two basic options are usually explored as it relates to fines attached to narcotics possession matters.
The options, she said are additional jail time or seizure of assets. “What normally happens, they can either pay the fine or the court….the magistrate adds (an) additional sentence,” Daniels said.
In terms of seizure of assets, she said those acquired over the last five to seven years are the focus. “Motions would have been moved in the court…I know for sure those are options that are there….The question if it is being imposed is a whole different thing but the court or CANU (Customs Anti-Narcotic Unit) or any agent can go after these convicts,” Daniels explained.
Daniels could not point to any case where a convict would have paid his/her fine. In most instances, she said an additional sentence is imposed.
She said that the fines are “mostly” three times the street value of the drugs found in the case. “Most of the times they are fined based on three times the street value of the narcotics…and that is the penalty,” Daniels said.
On July 10, Rodrigues Estiven of Colombia and co-pilot Mateus Vinicius Alberto, a Brazilian, were transported from Mahdia to Georgetown after illegally landing a Cessna 172 at the Region Eight airstrip.
The plane contained 10 large parcels of cocaine eight of which were branded ‘King Coca 30’ worth millions of dollars.
The men were both charged and sentenced to four years and six months in jail for the trafficking of cocaine and cannabis. They were also fined $449M each.
About three months before this, Massiah Durant, 52, was sentenced to 50 months imprisonment and fined $215.1M after he pleaded guilty to possession of narcotics for the purpose of trafficking.
Durant was among three persons who were arrested after a joint operation by ranks of CANU and the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Coast Guard unearthed 1580 pounds of cannabis in a house at De Veldt, Upper Berbice River.
The drug haul had a street value of $79 million.
A month later, 26-year-old Akeem Lashley of ‘B’ Field, Sophia was sentenced to four years imprisonment and fined $2.3 million after he was charged in relation to the discovery of $1.5m in cocaine at Norton Street, Georgetown.
Lashley admitted to the offence and told the court “everything is me own. I does do drugs”. His co-accused, denied the charge and was placed on $150,000 bail.
On August 12 this year, Kwakwani resident, Carlon Causeway was sentenced to three years in jail and fined just over $17 million for the possession of 25 pounds of ganja for trafficking.
Police ranks who were responding to a report of noise nuisance arrested Causeway and Devin Causeway following the discovery of the cannabis.
Assets
Daniels told Stabroek News that the decision as to whether additional time will be handed down or assets will be seized is one that is determined by the court.
“The magistrate…..they impose the penalty in keeping with the law but if the need be then the agency who is responsible for charging the person can apply to the court for asset recovery and seizure of items once the evidence is there to show that these things would have been generated as a result of what they would have been found with and sentenced for,” she explained.
Depending on the circumstances of the case, Daniels said the magistrate usually uses his/her discretion to determine how much more jail time is added.
“…Bearing in mind the maximum penalty for trafficking of narcotics is five years imprisonment. Once you are charged summarily and in the magistrate’s court…so the magistrate has a discretion. Early guilty plea and those things the magistrate apply certain formula,” Daniels told Stabroek News.
At the level of magistrate’s court, the sentence on a narcotics trafficking offence cannot exceed five years. “Whatever is applied cannot exceed five years. If they (accused) have five, six, seven charges and they are found guilty on all five or six, they can get as much as 80 years. It can run concurrently or it can run consecutively. At the end of the day, they might spend a total of 21 years imprisonment….But they are sentenced on each case,” Daniels further explained.
In January of this year, Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Anil Nandlall had said that the government will be intensifying its campaign to go after assets implicated in drug-related offences and others believed to be the proceeds from organised crime.
He had stated that the government would be seizing both moveable and immoveable properties in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Narcotic Drug and Psychotropic Substances Act, and the Anti-Money Laundering Countering the Financing of Terrorism Act.
Section 35 of the Narcotic Act states: “(1) Any machinery, equipment, implement, pipe, utensil or other article used for the commission of any offence under this Act shall be forfeited to the state. (2) Every conveyance used for the commission of any offence under this Act or for carrying any machinery, equipment, implement, pipe, utensil or other article used for the commission of any offence under this Act, or any narcotic shall be forfeited to the state…”
In a statement, the AG’s Chambers had said that studies have shown moves to seize assets have had significant impacts in combatting organised crime and the State has every confidence that such actions will have similar results in Guyana.
It added that it is the intention of the state to work closely with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Guyana Police Force, the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU), CANU, Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) and other law enforcement agencies in Guyana in the execution of this policy.
