Latest update April 23rd, 2024 12:59 AM
Jul 15, 2022 News
Kaieteur News – The pilot and co-pilot of the Cessna Skylane aircraft that landed at the Mahdia Airstrip, Region Eight, with millions worth of cocaine onboard were on Wednesday jailed and fined over GYD$493M.
Rodrigues Estiven, a Colombian National and his Brazilian Co-pilot, Mateus Alberto made their court appearance at the Georgetown Magistrate Court. For the 290.2 kilograms of “King Coca” labeled cocaine found onboard their aircraft, they were fined a total of $435,380,640 and sentenced to four years and six months imprisonment, respectively. As it relates to the 50.4 kilograms of cannabis that were also found onboard, they were fined over GYD$49M each and were both sentenced to four years and six month imprisonment.
The duo were given another one-year jail sentence too for operating a civil aircraft without an airworthiness certificate and fined another GYD$2M. They were also accused of interference with the plane and received a one-year jail sentence for that offence as well, along with another GYD$2M fine.
The court also heard that the foreigners were also operating the plane without insurance and were both fined GYD$3M each and had received a third one-year jail sentence for this offence.
As was suspected, the Cessna Syklane plane had a false aircraft marking (tail number) and they were fined another $2M and a fourth one-year jail sentence was added.
However, all the charges will run concurrently so the Estiven and Alberto will only serve four and a half years behind bars.
The two were arrested on Sunday last after the plane they were operating illegally landed at the Mahdia Airstrip. Onboard investigators found over GYD$430M worth of cocaine and another GYD$49M worth of cannabis.
The cocaine were labeled “King Coca 30” and is suspected to be the property of an international drug smuggling ring or company.
In March 2021, South African Law enforcement Authorities busted a fishing vessel with US$34M worth of cocaine onboard, off the coast of Saldanha, a bay located some 105 kilometers north of Cape Town, South Africa. All of the packages had the same “King Coca” label and based on photos seen by this media house of the cocaine found at the Mahdia Airstrip, it bore the same gold crown logo.
Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum had disclosed on Wednesday that his investigators at the police headquarters located at Eve Leary, Georgetown had found that the Cessna Skylane plane was loaded with the drug cargo in a neighbouring country and had stopped in another country close to Guyana’s borders before landing at Mahdia.
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