Cocaine in mail bag bound for N.Y.: Customs officer refused bail

TIMES INT'L
GRA Commissioner Khurshid Sattaur
GRA Commissioner Khurshid Sattaur

Clive David, the Customs Officer who was allegedly caught on camera packing cocaine into a mail bag at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport last week, was on Wednesday remanded to prison when he appeared before City Magistrate Ann Mc Lennan.

David, of 22 Princes Street, Lodge, pleaded not guilty to the charge of possession of narcotics for the purpose of trafficking. He allegedly committed the crime sometime between April 9 and 11.

Police said that David was allegedly in possession of 647 grams of cocaine at the time. His lawyer, Lance Ferreira, in a passionate plea for bail, told the court that David was given the mail by a friend to post and he left it on his desk at Timehri.

Police Prosecutor Dinero Jones countered by saying that the defendant had signed a confession statement, allegedly admitting that he knew the drug was in the envelope. The Prosecutor said police are still conducting investigations.

GRA Commissioner Khurshid Sattaur told Guyana Times International that the agency’s policy is that any serious offence on or off the job that attracts the attention of the police means the culpable person is subject to summary dismissal.

“An internal investigation was immediately launched after reports surfaced across the media that 644 grams of cocaine was found in mail bound for New York on a Caribbean Airlines flight,” the release said.  Sattaur said the officer’s actions are a clear breach of the organisation’s Standard Operating Procedure and that the entity will “work on putting more robust systems in place to weed out corrupt elements”.

He noted that officers fail to realise that they have a responsibility to act with integrity and protect the image of the agency. Sattaur reiterated that the GRA will not condone corrupt individuals, whether officials or taxpayers. He said the GRA will do all within its power to eradicate corruption.

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