The Guyanese woman who was nabbed with cocaine in two milk tins at the JFK International Airport in New York last week has been identified as Lisa Odessa Holder and she has asserted her rights to remain silent.
According to Special Agent in the Department of Homeland Security John Lattuca in sworn court documents seen by this newspaper, Holder knowingly, intentionally and unlawfully imported cocaine into the US.
He said on January 13, 2011 Holder arrived in the US aboard Caribbean Airlines flight number 434. She was selected for a Customs Border Protection examination and she presented for inspection one blue ‘New Way’ suitcase. During an inspection the customs officer removed two Fernleaf milk powder tins and a white powdery substance was discovered inside both of them. The substance was later field tested and was found to be cocaine.
Meanwhile, Holder who has been remanded to custody is not cooperating with authorities as in a document filed with the court the accused asserted her Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights to remain silent and to have a counsel present at any and all of her interactions with the government agents.
“I do not wish to speak to an agent or prosecutor until the case is over, and I do not wish to be contacted by the government unless my counsel is present,” she said.
Only recently, a Guyanese man was caught with cocaine at the JFK International Airport, after telling inspectors he had “cooked rabbit” in his luggage. Three bricks of cocaine were found in the luggage of Roger Levans of Queens, N.Y., who had travelled on a Delta Airlines flight from Georgetown on December 29, 2010. Levans was released on US$100,000 bail after being charged.
The numerous cases of Guyanese passengers found with cocaine at airports overseas have fuelled concerns about the quality of security at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri.
In January last year, a woman was found with 50 lbs of cocaine in her suitcase at JFK after departing CJIA. She was charged in New York and charges were also laid against persons here.
