The Trinidadian national who was pulled off a flight on Monday after cocaine was discovered in his suitcases at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) on Tuesday was arraigned at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts for cocaine trafficking.
Edward Jones, a Trinidadian based in Canada, pleaded not guilty to the charge of possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking when he appeared before Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry.
Police said Jones was taken off a Caribbean Airlines flight bound for Canada by ranks of the Police Anti-Narcotics Branch after they found a suspicious substance in his luggage.
The man was reportedly on the aircraft when his baggage was scanned by members of the drug enforcement unit at the main port of entry. This, airport officials related, is a norm. It was during the scanning process that the illegal substance was detected. The man was taken off the flight and asked to identify his luggage. He was then taken to an isolated room where his suitcases were searched, and the 9.545 kilograms of cocaine were unearthed in the false bottoms.
He immediately denied having any knowledge of the substance and accused airport authorities in Trinidad, where he boarded the flight, of framing him. He was subsequently arrested and taken to police headquarters.
The defendant was remanded and the matter transferred to the Providence Magistrate’s Court for January 13.
