Shellon Barrow, who is accused of plotting to smuggle almost four pounds of cocaine out of the country last year, on Wednesday denied having knowledge of the narcotic and implicated her alleged co-conspirator, Latoya Griffith, during sworn testimony.
Barrow, a vendor of 135 Victoria Street, Albouystown, and Griffith, a hairdresser of Lot 38 Norton Street, Georgetown, are currently on trial before Principal Magistrate Faith McGusty in Georgetown.
Barrow, 38, is charged with trafficking 1.638 kilogrammes (equivalent to 3.6 pounds) of cocaine on September 15th at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri, while Griffith, 37, was alleged to have aided Barrow to traffic 1.638 kilogrammes of cocaine between September 14th and September 15th at Sunset Hotel, Kitty.
During the continuation of their trials, which are being conducted by Principal Magistrate Faith McGusty in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court Five, Barrow, who was told to lead her defence, opted to give sworn testimony.
After taking the witness stand, Barrow said that on September 13th, 2018, she received a call from Griffith, whom she said she had known for at least two to three years.
She said Griffith told her that she bought her a plane ticket to Jamaica, where she got her a job as a “club girl” or “sex worker.” Griffith, she said, told her to bring her passport to her urgently but she informed the woman that she did not have one. She said Griffith then told her to send a picture via WhatsApp, which she did and Griffith subsequently acquired a passport for her.
She said Griffith later called her back and told her to pack her clothes. No further details were given. “All she told me (was) that the ticket already buy,” Barrow added before saying that she then asked why she was being given such a short notice and she was told by Griffith that it was because flights to Jamaica were scarce.
The night before the flight, Barrow said, she met Griffith and two unknown men, whose names she never bothered to ask. Griffith subsequently took her suitcase and instructed her to enter the car while she placed the suitcase “at the back of the car.”
Barrow added that she entered the car and after a minute or so Griffith did the same and started a conversation with the driver about the hotel where she would stay.
After they arrived at the hotel, Barrow said, Griffith gave the driver $5,000 and she gave her the room key and an envelope with a ticket inside. “I opened it to ensure it was the ticket alone,” Barrow stated. She then went to check-in at the hotel alone but Griffith later returned. “I said what you doing back here… and she said that she bought a new suitcase because the one I have is too old to travel,” Barrow told the magistrate. “She threw it on the bed and opened it and I looked inside but I did not see anything. She told me to go and bathe and she will pack the suitcase,” Barrow testified.
Barrow said she did as she was told and Griffith packed her things. When she came out, Griffith, who was almost finished packing, told her that a car was on its way to pick her up.
During the drive to the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri, Barrow said, she observed Griffith texting constantly throughout the trip but thought that was also normal. When they arrived at the airport the driver carried the suitcase for her into the airport and she proceeded to the check- in point, where she was searched by a male, who told her everything was “okay.” He then placed her suitcase onto the scanner and after it was scanned he told her to continue on her way.
However, a woman, who later identified herself as a Customs Anti-Narcotic Unit (CANU) officer, stopped her from proceeding and asked her to search the suitcase. Knowing that she had nothing to hide, Barrow said she carried the suitcase to the woman, who proceeded to throw her clothes onto a table. After her clothes had been emptied from the suitcase, the officer informed her that parts of the suitcase were soft and hollow and other parts were hard. She then pulled apart the suitcase and placed the empty suitcase back on the scanner.
According to Barrow, the CANU officer then told her that the suitcase was not “normal.” “She started to bore up the suitcase and a white substance come out on the thing she was using to bore up the suitcase. She asked me where I got the suitcase from and I told her a friend gave it to me. She said that this is a suspected narcotic and I said I don’t understand what she talking,” Barrow stated.
The woman then told her that she was under arrest for trying to traffic narcotics and asked her for her phone and password taking her to the CANU office, where ranks tore apart the suitcase and found two plastic bags of white substance. “I started to holler and I fall down on the officer because they keep saying is drugs and I never saw drugs before,” Barrow said, concluding her testimony.
During cross-examination by CANU Prosecutor Narissa Leander, Barrow was forced to admit that she signed her name on the entry book when she collected food from a CANU officer claiming that she did not sign anything while in custody at CANU. She also denied telling CANU officers that she bought the suitcase for $3,000.
The matter was adjourned until December 4th when cross-examination is due to continue.
Griffith is yet to lead her defence to the charge against her.
