Berbice businesswoman fined, jailed for cocaine trafficking

Last Updated on Wednesday, 21 September 2016, 13:01 by Denis Chabrol

A woman caught attempting to traffic a large quantity of cocaine to the United States (US) was Thursday jailed and fined.

Tricia Loo of 651 Fort Ordinance, East Canje, Berbice pleaded guilty when she appeared before a city magistrate. She was sentenced to three years imprisonment and fined GYD$25.6 million for being in possession of the illicit drug for the purpose of trafficking.

The forty-four year old woman pleaded guilty one day after she was arrested by agents of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) with 9.5 kilogrammes of cocaine.

The businesswoman was destined for New York when she was held with the cocaine. An examination of the suitcase revealed that the illicit substance had been concealed in a false wall of the suitcase that she was carrying.