The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) on Thursday upheld the 2007 conviction of businessman Vishnu ‘Haffa’ Bridgelall for trafficking over 100 kilogrammes of cocaine but while he will face no more jail time because of the delays in the appeal process, he still has to pay a fine of $254M.
Bridgelall is no longer in the country, having travelled to Canada for medical treatment, and it is unclear whether any part of the fine has been paid.
Bridgelall was one of several persons who had been charged following a Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) raid at Enterprise on the East Coast of Demerara in May, 2007, where over 100 kilogrammes of cocaine in fish glue being prepared for export had been found.
On November 23rd, 2007, Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs jailed Bridgelall for
