Police engaging international counterparts to probe “King Coca” drug bust

Jul 14, 2022 News

Kaieteur News – The Guyana Police Force’s Criminal Investigations Department (CID) is currently engaging its counterparts in neighbouring countries to investigate the $430M “King Coca 30” drug bust at Mahdia, Region Eight.

Co-pilot and pilot of the plane found with coke at Mahdia, Meteus Alberto and Rodriques Estiven.

The multimillion dollar cocaine bust was made on Sunday after a Cessna Skylane Aircraft bearing tail number N5470Z landed illegally at the Mahdia Airstrip with two foreign nationals onboard. Police have identified the foreigners as the plane’s pilot and co-pilot, a Colombian National, Rodrigues Estiven and a Brazilian man, Mateus Vicinius Alberto. Inside the plane, CID ranks had found 10 parcels of cocaine-eight of them with the label “King Coca 30”- and a parcel of Cannabis. The cocaine amounted to 290.2 kilograms with a street value of $430, 380, 640. The cannabis weighed 54.6 kilograms and was valued to be more than $49M.

Speaking with Kaieteur News on Tuesday, Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum said that his investigators have found out that the drug cargo was loaded onto the plane in a nieghbouring country. It made a stop in another country close to Guyana’s border before illegally landing at Mahdia. Police will not divulge the name of these countries at this stage of investigation. However, the Crime Chief related that the Guyana Police Force (GPF) is presently engaging its counterparts in the neighbouring countries as the probe continues.

The Cessna Skylane that landed at illegally at Mahdia

Research done by this media house suggests that the seized cocaine might belong to an international drug smuggling ring or company that uses the label “King Coca” because this was not the first multimillion cocaine bust with the “King Coca” label. In March 2021, South African law enforcement ranks made US$34M cocaine bust off the coast of Saldanha, a bay located some 105 Kilometers north of Cape Town, South Africa. The drugs were found stashed in a Panama flagged fishing vessel.

A South African journalist, Caryn Dolley had reported in an article she had written for the Daily Marverick South Africa, the cocaine were compressed into 93 blocks packed in black boxes labeled “King Coca”. According to Dolley, there were previous drug busts at same locations involving Brazilian vessels.

King Coca labeled cocaine found on a fishing vessel off the coast of Saldanha, South Africa (A Daily Maverick (South African media Company) Photo)

As Guyanese authourities continue their probe to find out where the “King Coca 30” labeled cocaine found at Mahdia had come from and where it was heading, it appears as though the plane transporting it bears an American registration number. Kaieteur News had reported that it is also possible, that aircraft is carrying an incorrect tail number. Tail number N5470Z reportedly belongs to a 1962 Cessna Piper aircraft. There is however a 1972 Cessna Skylane aircraft with registration number N5470 with links to neighbouring Brazil.

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