Two persons are now in custody after one of them was intercepted by the Customs Anti-Narcotic Unit (CANU) at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) while further investigation had later led to the arrest of the other.
CANU in a release yesterday said that their officers had intercepted 52-year-old Cranson Carlson Henry of Crane Housing Scheme, West Coast Demerara, and also of Rockaway Avenue, Brook-lyn, New York, who was an outgoing passenger at the CJIA destined to travel to the United States on March 2.
According to the Unit, when the man was intercepted and questioned, he admitted to having a quantity of narcotics in his luggage. A search was carried out and seven milk packets containing a whitish, powdery substance suspected to be cocaine was found.
As such, Henry was cautioned, arrested and a video of him admitting to the offence was taken. He, along with the suspected narcotics, were taken to CANU’s headquarters where it tested positive for cocaine with a weight of 6.070 kilogrammes (13.4 pounds) and a street value of $13.3 million. CANU noted the value of the cocaine would have been higher if it had arrived at its intended destination.
Further investigation led to the arrest of Mark Ferdinand, 42, of Samaria Dam, Pouderoyen, West Bank Demerara, who was arrested in 2015 in the US for the same offence of drug trafficking. According to the Unit, Ferdinand’s brother, Berkeley Ferdinand, was also charged in 2016 for the same crime and was sentenced to 3 years’ imprisonment.
