The Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) supervisor who was on duty when 50 pounds of cocaine slipped past officials at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri on January 12 has been sent on leave as authorities intensify their investigation into the incident.
Sources yesterday told Stabroek News that while all of the CANU staff who were on duty on the date in question have been moved from the airport the supervisor is the only one who has been sent on leave.
Reports are that authorities have some information that the supervisor may have enabled the pink suitcase with the orange ribbon to get onto the Delta Airlines flight without its contents being detected.
While there are cameras at the airport it is unclear if anyone was caught on tape handling the suitcase. However, it was revealed that the supervisor did deal with the woman, Dorothy Sears, who checked the suitcase in, at the airport.
Sears was subsequently busted with marijuana in her brassiere and the cocaine suitcase at the John F Kennedy International Airport in New York.
Head of CANU James Singh and Crime Chief Seelall Persaud have both confirmed that a local investigation has been launched into the bust. Sources have pointed out that while there have always been cases of cocaine slipping past officials at the airport, this particular case has been embarrassing because of the large amount involved and coming after the major CANU shake-up which saw the controversial use of lie detector tests. There could be no excuse for authorities missing the cocaine, sources said as it is difficult for 50 pounds of cocaine in a single suitcase to have not been detected by the scanner.
Stabroek News understands that a local investigator may soon travel to New York with the aim of interviewing Sears- who Singh had said is cooperating with authorities in the US.
It was during a customs examination at JFK of Sears’ carry-on luggage that she was reportedly “nervous, sweating profusely and avoiding eye contact.” She was asked if she had any checked luggage and responded in the negative. “A pat-down search was then conducted of the defendant’s person and a hard object was found concealed in the defendant’s bra. The hard object was found to be a plastic bag containing a green leafy substance,” court documents said. Faced with this discovery, which was later determined to be marijuana, Sears then admitted that she had checked-in the pink suitcase and stated that she had been instructed by an individual in Guyana not to pick up the bag.
She told US authorities that she was to be paid US$6,000 for checking in the suitcase by an individual in Guyana.
She said she thought initially the suitcase had marijuana but when she received it she believed it contained cocaine because of the weight and the amount of money she was to receive.
