US woman remanded over suitcase cocaine

Acting Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson-Ogle yesterday remanded to prison a woman who allegedly had in her possession 1 kilogramme, 35 grammes of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking, when she appeared at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court.

Amirah Mitchel
Amirah Mitchel

Amirah Mitchel, 20, a cosmetologist and resident of the United States  pleaded not guilty to the charge of possession of narcotics for the purpose of trafficking when it was read to her.

It is alleged that on July 23 at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), Timehri the woman had in her possession the stated amount of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking.

The matter was subsequently transferred to the Providence Magistrate’s Court for July 28. Mitchel was refused bail.

Previous reports said that  Mitchel was discovered on Wednesday morning at CJIA by Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) ranks with the cocaine neatly flattened in plastic and hidden in the walls of her suitcase. She was booked on  Caribbean Airlines flight, CA 484, destined for New York via Trinidad. The cocaine has a street value of $5 million.