Latest update March 22nd, 2025 6:44 AM
Latest News
- “Guyana will not be intimidated, coerced” – President Ali tells Maduro
- PNCR maintains it will engage experts on ring-fencing only when in office – Elson Low
- Israel threatens annexation after expanding ground offensive in Gaza
- 𝐆𝐂𝐂𝐈 𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 w𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭
- Teen killed in accident after pulling steering wheel during row with boyfriend
CANU prosecutor pleads for maximum sentence to foreign drug trafficker
“It is individuals like these who contribute to the stain that is given to our country, with external criticism associating our country with drugs. And here it is a foreigner wants to assist that kind of criticism.
“He comes to our country to commit such an offence to prove to the rest of the world that we are what they say we are. Even if this defendant has pleaded guilty, it was only after he already told the court that he was innocent. ”
Castilla being taken away to serve four years in jail
Oswald Massiah, prosecutor attached to the Custom’s Anti- Narcotics Unit (CANU) spoke sharply and sternly when he addressed Acting Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine- Beharry on Friday. He called for the total penalty for a Spanish national about to be sentenced for trafficking cocaine.
Vincent Sarrano Castilla, a 28-year-old native of Spain, appeared in the Georgetown Magistrates ‘Court accused of trying to smuggle 1.945 kilograms of cocaine out of the country.
Castilla was held at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) on October 2 with a quantity of the contraband concealed in a musical keyboard.
He was booked aboard a Delta Flight heading to New York and then to Brussels, Belgium. He checked in at the airport where he handed over his luggage to airport officials for security checks.
The prosecutor said that the ranks noticed that the man’s attention was drawn to something and this led to further checks being made on the man’s belongings. Castilla’s keyboard was passed through a scanner and the CANU ranks observed a darkish object in the article.
After investigating the item, the suspected drug was discovered. The police arrested Castilla and charged him for the drugs.
Massiah added to the man’s guilt when he told the court that Castilla came to this country under the pretext that he was here on vacation. He said the man stayed at the Tourist Villa Hotel in Subryanville where he communicated with others in getting access to the drugs.
Castilla asked for leniency. He said that he had no family here in Guyana, two children awaiting him in Spain and that he already had a robbery underarms matter that was pending in Spain.
Mr. Massiah intervened asking the court not to fall short in handing down the sentence. He asked the magistrate to send a message to other persons wanting to follow in the footsteps of the Spaniard. He reiterated that Guyana is not a drug haven and foreigners will not come to add to our already global stain.
Castilla will spend four years in jail. He will also pay a fine of $30,000. Castilla accepted the sentence and he calmly walked away being escorted to the holding area to commence his four-year confinement.
Similar Articles
THE BLUNT OF THE DAY
Sports
Features/Columnists
Following one’s conscience rather than the crowd
Peeping Tom… Kaieteur News- “They’re certainly entitled to think that, and they’re entitled to full respect... more
Weekend Cartoon
