A twenty-year-old Jamaican national was sentenced last Friday to five years imprisonment for drug trafficking. Richard Daniels was also fined over $3.4 M after he was found guilty as charged for the offence.

He was busted at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) with 1.236 kilograms of cocaine concealed in two bottles of lotion and two and a half pairs of socks on January 5 last.
Daniels was brought before Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry on his first arraignment.
When the charge of possession of narcotics for the purpose of trafficking was read to Daniels, he pleaded not guilty.
However, he was denied pretrial liberty and the matter was transferred before City Magistrate Ann McLennan for trial.
Daniels was an outgoing passenger on Fly Jamaica flight OJ155 destined for Kingston, Jamaica.
The prosecution stated that about 22:05 hours on the night in question, a party of police ranks headed by Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Singh was conducting a narcotics eradication exercise at the airport.
According to the facts, ASP Singh noticed Daniels acting in a suspicious manner and approached him. After making a request, Singh searched Daniels’ suitcase and found 105 pellet-shaped objects, wrapped in silver paper foil, stashed in two bottles of lotion and two and a half pairs of socks.
Subsequently, a field test was conducted at CJIA which proved that the pellet-shaped objects were cocaine. Daniels was told of the offence and taken to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) where the illicit substance was weighed. He was subsequently charged with drug trafficking. (Geeta Rampersaud)