A former Customs Officer and a businessman were on Thursday, January 24, 2019, each sentenced to five years imprisonment and fined $178.4M for trafficking cocaine-in-lumber.

The ex-officer, Sherwayne DeAbreu of Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown and Tazim Gafoor of Menzies Street, Windsor Forest, West Coast Demerara were found guilty of the charge by Magistrate Rushelle Liverpool at the Leonora Magistrate’s Court.

Meanwhile, Gafoor’s son, Nazim Gafoor, a motorcar racer, and motorcycle racer Stephen Vieira, were each found not guilty of the charge due to the lack of evidence.

The four men were on trial for aiding Hakim Mohamed in trafficking 84.986 kilograms of cocaine between March 1 and May 2, 2017. Hakim Mohamed was not charged and was used as the main witness in the case.

The men were represented by Attorneys-at-law Latchmie Rahamat, Everton Lammy-Singh, Glenn Hanoman, and Nigel Hughes. Evidence was led by Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) Prosecutor, Konyo Sandiford.

Magistrate Liverpool, during her ruling, noted that the main witness, during his testimony had given detailed information implicating DeAbreu and Gafoors.

Hakeem Mohamed, in his evidence, told the court that, DeAbreu along with another man had brought 99 white bricks of cocaine at Narine Lall’s lumber yard which he worked and also, Tazim Gafoors was there to collect the cocaine and to count it.

The Magistrate, at the end of the trial, ruled that DeAbreu and Tazim Gafoor aided Mohamed to traffic the drugs.

Meanwhile, Nazim Gafoor and Stephen Vieira were freed on the grounds of insufficient evidence.

Tazim Gafoors’ attorney Glenn Hanoman, during his plea of mitigation had asked the court to consider that this was his client first conviction for this type of offense.

Attorney Nigel Hughes during his plea of mitigation for DeAbreu told the court, that during his client professional career as a customs officer, DeAbreu was responsible for 80% to 90% of the narcotics bust and conviction.

Magistrate Liverpool told the court that her sentence should reflect society’s condemnation drug trafficking and it should also be proportionate to the crime meanwhile, sending a strong message to society.

Attorneys for DeAbreu and Tazim Gafoors  told the court that they would be appealing the matter.

According to reports, the bust was made after CANU officials received a tip-off on May 12, 2017. When ranks acted, dressed lumber boards were being packed onto a truck.

The truck driver and porters were arrested but were subsequently released after it was discovered that the vehicle and its workers were hired to transport the timber.

The drug agency, in a release, said that ranks conducted a search on the parapet in front of Mohamed’s premises and searched a truck laden with several pallets of 1×6 dressed lumber boards prepared for export. Several pieces of boards were drilled randomly by the ranks, and a whitish substance, believed to be cocaine, was revealed.

The lumber, which belonged to Narine Lall, was packed at sawmill at Lookout, East Bank Essequibo, to be transported to a wharf in Georgetown before being shipped to the United States, CANU said.

According to reports, Vieira was listed on the shipping documents as a representative of the shipper, Lall, for whom, according to CANU, an arrest warrant has been issued.

Tazim was placed before the court in 2016 and charged for his role in another cocaine matter for attempting to pervert the course of justice last year September, following the discovery of over nine kilograms of cocaine. The matter was later dismissed due to lack of evidence.