Latest update December 12th, 2024 1:00 AM
Guyanese among five held in $13M Barbadian drug bust
Three Guyanese are among five men held in Barbados in one of the largest drug bust on the island in recent times.
Barbados police say they have arrested and charged the men with having over $13 million worth of cocaine.
According to the Barbados Nation, a sting operation conducted by the Drug Squad at a Sunset Crest, St James residence last Thursday uncovered the drugs, which was concealed in a number of wooden pallets. The cocaine in powder form was estimated to weigh 94 pounds (42.8 kilos).
The Guyanese that were charged are Andrew McHennon, 30, of Georgetown; Surain Persad, 44, of West Bank Demerara; and Davanand Outar, 34, of East Bank Essequibo, while the Barbadians are Michael Forde, 30, unemployed, of Cemetery Lane, Road View, St Peter; Ryan Noel, 38, a security supervisor of Wavell Avenue, Black Rock, St Michael.
The five are expected to appear in the District “A” Magistrates’ Court today to answer charges of cocaine possession, trafficking and trafficking with intent to supply.
Forde is also being charged with keeping premises for the purpose of trafficking drugs. He was reportedly held at Grantley Adams International Airport Friday morning as he attempted to leave the island.
The drugs, disguised in the wooden pallets, are believed to have entered the island by boat.
Head of the Drug Squad, Superintendent Grafton Phillips, said the bust was an indication that Barbados was still being targeted as a transshipment point for the illicit drugs.
The seizure is recorded as the second biggest ever on the island following the conviction and sentencing of six other Guyanese, including two women, for trafficking over $30 million worth of cocaine and marijuana into the island on June 4, 2009.
Ranging from prison terms between 10 and 30 years, the six were found guilty after police caught them in a house in Bay Gardens, St Michael. The drugs were shipped from Guyana.
Last September, police also charged a St Thomas businessman with trafficking over 2700 pounds of marijuana, which was discovered in a container at the Bridgetown Port.
Suleman Esuf, 22, of Redman’s Village, was accused of importing the ganja worth over $11 million between April and July last year.
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