After apologizing for his act and pleading for leniency, Eduardo Alexander Moore, who was held with 2.382 kilograms of cocaine by the Customs Anti-Narcotic Unit (CANU) on Albert Street, yesterday pleaded guilty to trafficking and was sentenced by Principal Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus to four years and three months behind bars.
Moore was also ordered to pay a fine of $3,573,000.
The charge stated that Moore, a 44-year-old construction worker and welding fabricator of Lusignan, East Coast Demerara (ECD), on February 24th on Albert Street, between Regent and Charlotte streets, Georgetown, had in his possession 2.382 kilograms of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking.
After the charge was read, CANU Prosecutor Richard Harris presented the evidence to the court. According to Harris, CANU ranks acting on information, conducted an operation on Regent Street, between Albert Street and Oronoque Street where Moore was seen entering a white motorcar driven by another male.
He said the car turned west on Regent Street and drove into Albert Street where the defendant exited and stood waiting with a blue, black and white haversack; the car had driven off. Harris added that as Moore stood waiting on the corner of Albert Street, CANU ranks intercepted him and carried out a search on the bag where two brick-like parcels were found and a black plastic bag which was taped in green and black scotch tape. Moore was told of the ranks’ suspicion and escorted to CANU Headquarters along with the suspected narcotics.
At the headquarters, the narcotics tested positive for cocaine and the packages were weighed in the presence of Moore and amounted to 2.382 kgs or 5.3 lbs. with a street value of $2.3 million. Moore was further questioned, and according to Harris, he eventually admitted to the offence.
Moore pleaded guilty yesterday and opted to explain. He said that on the day in question he received a phone call from the driver of the motor car who told him that he would receive $50,000 if he (Moore) uplifted the package and waited on Albert Street for someone to pick it up from him. The defendant admitted that he was aware that the package contained some sort of narcotics.
Moore said that after waiting for about three minutes, he was intercepted by CANU ranks who performed a search on him and took him to headquarters. While there, they questioned him and showed him a picture of the motor car driver, who they said is a drug supplier. Moore said that during the interrogation, he was shown another picture, this one was of the man who was supposed to uplift the package. According to Moore, although he acknowledged knowing the men, and the part they played, CANU ranks never went in search of either of them.
Prosecutor Harris was asked by the magistrate about the sentence that was deserved by the defendant, to which Harris said that Moore ought to serve a fair number of years given that he was previously charged by CANU, sentenced to five years and released on April 13th last for a similar offence. The prosecutor said that Moore’s recent involvement, again with CANU, shows that he has not changed since he was released from prison, and that he has been facilitating the said driver for a while now in transporting narcotics to various persons. According to Harris, CANU secured the defendant’s phone where evidence of him agreeing to transactions of the said kind was unearthed.
After hearing Harris’s reasons for him to serve the maximum sentence, Moore broke into tears and told the magistrate that he was sorry for his acts.
“I am really sorry for my wrongdoings, I admit that I was wrong and I am really sorry,” he said, while contending that he was not “this type of person,” and that jail has changed him. Moore begged Principal Magistrate Isaacs-Marcus to be lenient with him due to the fact that he had already served a maximum prison sentence and had been away from his daughter and family with whom he is now building a proper relationship.
After hearing both the prosecution’s case and the remorseful words of the accused, the magistrate subtracted nine months from the sentence, given his early plea and that he did not waste the court’s time, but also handed down a sentence to reflect that his actions show that he is not ready to be reintegrated into society. As such, Moore received a sentence of 4 years and 3 months’ imprisonment and was fined $3,573,000.
