A FATHER and his son from North Road, Georgetown, were this week’s latest drug busts at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri. They were caught trying to traffic cocaine concealed in the handles and false walls of their suitcases. At the time of their arrest, they were outgoing passengers about to board Flight BW 528 bound for the lucrative North American drug market. The USA destination, in recent times, has become a haven for drug smuggling activity, with persons doing practically anything conceivable to sell the white stuff. In this case, a father utilising his son to transact “business.”
Not even delving further into the matter, I would forthrightly recommend a stiff penalty of not less than 20 years for this beast of a father. A public example should be made of this man, to send a  clear message that you cannot, as an irresponsible adult, live a normal life by destroying that of your son. It will also have the dual effect of putting the perpetrators or masterminds behind these ghastly acts in their rightful places.
I guarantee you, this was not the first time this father has used his son as a courier to perpetrate his nefarious activities. Of course, the youngster was kind of uncomfortable with the idea of going it alone on other occasions, but this time must have impressed upon the father to accompany him. He would have been tired of the risks taken before, knowing full well that his entire life can be shattered at any time, if a keen drug enforcement official holds on to him. Now that the mastermind is in custody, then we should let him spend the maximum time in prison.
Ironically, at a time when we are celebrating the gift of fathers, is this the “best” gift this father has for his son? If I were the presiding magistrate, I would double the father’s time of incarceration: Ten years for him! And let him serve an additional ten for his son, for destroying his future; that is, poisoning the young impressionable mind of the youth. This father should face the full brunt of the law. A youthful mind can be easily influenced, forcefully so, by his own father. So, I rest my case.
Now, let me relate to you a similar situation that occurred some years ago at a Miami Airport.  A Jamaican teenager was intercepted at the American airport trying to smuggle a large quantity of cocaine into that country. She was a mere schoolgirl of 16, caught in the act when she should have been in school.
You see, the drug barons of the day were taking advantage of the closeness of Jamaica to the USA; one can make a trip to the USA and return to Jamaica within hours. At the same time, he was utilising the services of some gullible schoolgirls who wanted to live the “high life” of drug smuggling. She was not so lucky this time, because the anti-narcotics agents in Miami caught her red-handed.
Imagine the thought of the parents receiving a call from immigration officials that their daughter had been charged for trafficking in drugs in another country. The parents of the youngster could not believe what immigration officials were telling them, of a daughter being in Miami when they knew for a fact that their daughter was supposed to have been at school in Montego Bay. However, they had to admit the fact, as the truth gradually settled in. The most distressing part of this story is the fact that the schoolgirl could not reveal the name of the guy she was working for, reasons being those parents would have been dealt with  swiftly; as they say, in Jamaican parlance, “awe dust the gaal family,” “dust” meaning kill as in “dust to dust” used at funerals. In this regard, she had to suffer the consequences alone.
The Guyana situation is different, because we have the father who is the mastermind, and he should face the full weight of the law. On the other hand, I would have his son sentenced to community service, and a rigorous counselling programme, because a sterner punishment would have been classified as wasting the years of an otherwise productive youth at the behest of a hardened criminal father.
This is the time for the court to exercise its better judgment by exploring the possibilities of leniency and compassion.

NEIL ADAMS