-also fined $8.2M

By Clestine Juan
TWENTY-ONE-year-old Angelica Forde, a mother of two who was recently caught with more than seven pounds of cocaine strapped to her body, was on Tuesday sentenced to four years’ imprisonment and fined $8.2M by Sparendaam Magistrate Zamilla Ally-Seepaul, before whom she appeared on Monday and pleaded guilty to trafficking 3.040 kilograms of cocaine on June 15 at the Eugene F. Correia (formerly Ogle) International Airport.

Forde showed no remorse for her action, and was overheard saying, “God will provide; these couple years guh go by like nothing…. My children will be well taken care of.”

In handing down sentence, Magistrate Ally-Seepaul said she considered Forde’s guilty plea and the fact that this is her first conviction. She said she also took into account the seriousness of the offence and the quantity and value of the cocaine.

At her initial court appearance, Forde told the court, “It’s my stuff; my husband and children were not involved.”

Her husband, James Forde, was also charged on Monday with inciting her to traffic the substance between June 1 and 15 at their Lot 100 B Mora Street, Vryheid’s Lust, East Coast Demerara home. The 23-year-old taxi driver pleaded not guilty and was remanded until July 25.

The couple was represented by Attorney-at-law Mark Conway, who begged the magistrate to impose a light sentence on the mother, since she admitted to the crime and did not waste the court’s time.
Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) Prosecutor Konyo Sandiford-Thompson contended that the woman showed no remorse as she attempted to traffic the drug while travelling with her two children.

“God will provide; these couple years guh go by like nothing…. My children will be well taken care of.”

Sandiford-Thompson said that on June 15, at the Eugene F. Correia International Airport, Forde and her two children were on a flight to the United States via Barbados when CANU officers stationed there noticed that her clothing was fitted in an unusual manner and became suspicious. A female rank took the woman into a room, conducted a body search, and found the cocaine strapped to her body in packets hidden underneath her clothing.