DARSHANAN Balram of Lot 211 Albert Street, Bourda, Georgetown was on Monday found guilty of trafficking cocaine in Chinese Sauce, and was accordingly sentenced to four years’ imprisonment and fined more than $109M.Magistrate Judy Latchman told the 27-year-old convict that she believed he had physical control of the substance, and had every opportunity to discover the cocaine hidden in the Chinese Sauce among some vegetables which were slated to be shipped to the United States. The court also found that Balram had intention of trafficking the illicit drug out of Guyana.

Before handing down the sentence, Magistrate Latchman took into consideration the mitigating factors besides the quantum of drug, the method used to conceal the substance, and the need to discourage others from contemplating the commission of similar offences.

The court heard that on March 19, 2015, at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) Timehri, Balram had 40.4kg of cocaine in his possession for the purpose of trafficking.

Balram, a licensed exporter, would ship seasoning to the United States via an Amerijet cargo plane. On the day in question, at about 13:00hrs, he went to the CJIA with a quantity of items to ship. The items included seasoning, mixed fruits and Chinese Sauce. He presented to the authorities all the necessary shipping documents bearing his name.

Police narcotics ranks, acting on information received, went to Balram’s cargo van and conducted a search among the items in his presence, whereupon they stumbled upon a whitish substance concealed in the container containing the Chinese Sauce.