CANU arrests plywood cocaine suspect at funeral

Rajesh Kissoondyal
Rajesh Kissoondyal

Customs Anti-Narcotic Unit (CANU) officers have arrested a suspect who was wanted for questioning in the April 2016 discovery of cocaine in plywood which was being prepared for shipment to the US.

A source at CANU said that officers arrested Rajesh Kissoondyal on Friday while he was attending a funeral and investigators have questioned him on his knowledge of the 2016 bust. It is likely that he will face charges this week. An arrest warrant was issued for Kissoondyal.

The cocaine was found at a sawmill on the Linden/Soesdyke Highway. The weight of the drugs was said to be around 50 kilogrammes.

In 2016, GRA’s Drug Enforcement and Goods Examination units along with the Port Control Unit (PCU) were in the process of examining a consignment of 5/8-inch plywood destined for Florida, USA when on closer examination they detected the narcotic.

The packages of cocaine were concealed between approximately 320 sheets of plywood.