A 26-year-old pregnant woman was yesterday sentenced to three years in prison and fined nearly $2 million after being found with cocaine for the purpose of trafficking at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri.
Magistrate Leron Daly presiding in Court Two heard that on July 3, Patrima Isaacs, who was bound for the John F Kennedy International Airport, New York, was found with 698 grammes of cocaine hidden in the handle of her handbag and what appeared to be a sanitary napkin in her undergarments.
The court was told that Isaacs was stopped at the scanning area in the airport where she and her belongings were searched by officials. Upon closer investigation, officials realized that there was a white substance wrapped in foil in the handle of her carry on. Subsequently, her body was searched and a parcel disguised as a sanitary napkin was found in her underwear, suspected of being cocaine. Isaacs was arrested and the substance was weighed and marked and later confirmed to be the narcotic, with an approximate street value of $628,000.
In order to mitigate her possible sentence, Isaacs apologized for the crime, saying she was “very sorry this happened.”
The prosecution also made a statement that may have shortened her sentence, citing her cooperation with officials.
However, she was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment and fined $1,884,000, which is three times the street value of the cocaine.
