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Former Deputy REO in US custody despite no more jail time on drug charge

May 28, 2017 News

There is no more jail time for a Guyanese regional official busted last year with drugs at a Texas airport.
According to court records filed Friday, Ameena Hinds, a former Deputy Regional Executive Officer (REO) of Region Three, was sentenced to time served by Judge Sim Lake.
However, the deal with Hinds will remain sealed as she seemed to be cooperating with US investigators. She was not fined and there were special conditions attached to her sentencing.
Hinds will not be released to come back home right away or be allowed to travel freely in the US.
It is unclear the extent of her cooperation as the court records will not be made public now and have remained sealed.
Hinds, in a deal with prosecutors, pleaded to count one of the indictment– conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance and would have faced up to 20 years had she gone through a regular trial and found guilty. She could also have faced up to a US$1M in fines and automatic deportation.
In late October, Hinds was busted at a Texas, US airport with the cocaine hidden in her suitcase.
According to court documents, after her arrest, the Region Three official told security officers that she took a chance with the drugs after a number of persons she owed, came knocking to collect. She was supposed to receive US$2,500 for the job.
The charges said that on October 29, at Harris Country, in the Southern District of Texas, Hinds knowingly and intentionally imported into the US over 500 grams of coke.
The Deputy REO touched down at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport around 13:45hrs on a United Airlines flight from Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. She was singled out for a secondary inspection.
Around 15:00hrs, her luggage was subject to an x-ray inspection and a strange rectangular shape was seen at the bottom between the suitcase wheels. That part of the suitcase appeared shaded on the x-ray machines when it was supposed to be clear.
Officials later inserted a metal probe and discovered a white powdery substance. They field tested it positive for cocaine.
Hinds was immediately arrested and after the cocaine was weighed, it was found to be 1.49 kilograms (three pounds) in weight.
The court documents said that Hinds was willing to answer questions without an Attorney present.
She claimed that she owed US$5,000 in personal debt and persons were pressuring her to pay.
In July, she met with an unknown man whom she described as “Mystery Man”. She was offered US$2,500 ($500,000) to take a suitcase with drugs to the US.
However, the Deputy REO was nervous and it was not until in October when she was contacted again by the “Mystery Man” that she relented.
She was given a ticket by a female and later flew to Trinidad. There, she met “Mystery Man” who gave her another suitcase. Her personal items were placed in this suitcase.
She was told to travel to New York and to stay at a hotel where she would be contacted and paid, after the suitcase and drugs would have been handed over.
In court, Hinds pleaded not guilty to her indictment and was held without bail.

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