Spanish national held in cocaine bust at CJIA

Oct 05, 2011 News

A native of Spain was yesterday brought to the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court to answer the charge of narcotics possession with intent to traffic. The man who gave his name as Vincent Sarrano Castilla of Padellvalle, Spain, when brought before Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry, pleaded not guilty to the offence.
Allegations against the man declared that on the day in question, the defendant was trying to leave Guyana with a quantity of cocaine aboard an aircraft, Delta flight 384 destined for New York and then on to Brussels, Belgium.
The court was told by the prosecution which was led by Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) prosecutor Oswald Massiah that the man resided in Spain and was apprehended by CANU officers on duty at the airport. According to Massiah, on October 2, the man had in his possession 1.945 kg of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking.
The court was also told that the man entered Guyana on September 28 under the pretext that he was here on vacation. He stayed at the Tourist Villa Hotel in Subryanville. On Sunday October 2, on the way back to his homeland, while checking in at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri, he had in his possession a cardboard box containing a digital keyboard.
CANU officers passed the box through a scanner and noticed a darkish object within the keyboard. By observation of the drug ranks, the man’s attention seemed drawn and as a result a check was made on the keyboard itself. In doing so, the prosecutor added, the keyboard was opened in the presence of the man and it was discovered that the object seen through the scanner turned out to be the drug contents the officers had suspected. The man was subsequently arrested and charged.
The court was also told by the prosecution that difficulty was found in communicating with the man since he spoke no English. As a result, a Spanish translator from the immigration office had to be sought, to whom the man admitted that he was currently in a robbery under arms matter in his home country , out on bail, and is due to return to home for a court date next month.
When asked by the Magistrate, the man told the court via the translator that he had no ties to Guyana and he was only in the country on vacation, wanting to see what Guyana looked like.
Castilla was remanded until November 4 when he will make his next court appearance before Magistrate Sewnarine-Beharry.

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