Last Updated on Saturday, 15 July 2023, 7:31 by Written By Denis Chabrol
The conviction and sentencing of Michael Andrew Morgan for cocaine trafficking is being hailed by the Head of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU), James Singh as yet another major dent in going after the so-called ‘big fish’ drug traffickers.
After a year-long trial, Morgan was Friday convicted for being in possession of 7 pounds (3.27 kilogrammes) of cocaine, sentenced to four years imprisonment and fined about GY$4.9 million. The sentence was handed down by Diamond Magistrate, Sunil Scarce.
Mr Singh told Demerara Waves Online News that the conviction of Morgan in the local courts was a significant breakthrough in going after drug lords. “This is big for CANU…This is one of the so called big fish people always talk about,” the CANU Chief said.
Asked if Michael Andrew Morgan was wanted by the United States for a similar offence, Mr Singh said “the US needs to tell us if they want him.”
Michael Andrew was arrested on June 27, 2022 at his Eccles, East Bank Demerara home with the cocaine valued GY$3.5 million as well as twenty-seven 9MM rounds, one .32 Taurus firearm and twenty-five .32 rounds of ammunition.
His brother, Peter Morgan, was arrested in 2007 in Trinidad from where United States agents flew him to New York where he was convicted for cocaine trafficking in 2010 and sentenced to 10 years, three of which were calculated as time already served. He was deported to Guyana in November, 2015.
Back in 2016, CANU had secured a conviction against another major drug trafficker, Barry Dataram. On his release, he subsequently travelled to the United States where he was arrested and an indictment for cocaine trafficking was unsealed. He is on bail.
