A United States resident was yesterday remanded to prison when he appeared before Magistrate Hazel Octive-Hamilton charged with trafficking in narcotics.
Dwayne Kevin Harry was charged with having in his possession 6.9 kg of cocaine at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri on Sunday.
He pleaded guilty to the charge but a plea of not guilty was later entered by Magistrate Octive-Hamilton after he gave an explanation.
Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) Special Prosecutor Oswald Massiah told the court that Harry was born in St. Vincent and later migrated to the United States where he is a resident. He added that on August 15, the accused came to Guyana and stayed at a Campbellville hotel and on August 29, he was booked to return to the US via the CJIA.
Massiah further said that on the day Harry checked in two suitcases and as they were passing through the scanner, a CANU officer observed strange objects in the luggage. As a result, Harry was summoned and the suitcases which were identified as his were checked in his presence. A powdery substance later confirmed to be cocaine was found in each suitcase.
He was then arrested and taken to CANU headquarters where further investigations showed that the suitcases had false bottoms. He was then charged with the offence.
When asked if he wanted to say anything, Harry said, “The stuff in the suitcases is not mine.” As a result Magistrate Octive-Hamilton entered a not guilty plea for him.
Harry was then remanded to prison and the matter was transferred to Providence Magistrate’s Court for September 7.
