Guyanese pleads guilty to drug trafficking

The St.Vincent and the Grenadines Coast Guard has netted 606 pounds of marijuana during the past two weeks, with a street value of EC$727, 200.{{more}}

On Monday, July 14, 2008, at about 4:24 p.m., 364 lbs of cannabis contained in 21 packages were recovered by the Coast Guard just off Fancy on the north Windward side of mainland St. Vincent. Wilton Brathwaite, a 59-year-old fisherman of St.Phillip, Barbados and 24-year-old Gopaul Sanasie, a Guyanese by birth who resides in St.Lucy, Barbados, were arrested in the drug bust.

One speed boat registered L (St.lucy) #31 was also seized in the operation.

When the men appeared at the Serious Offenses Court in Kingstown on Tuesday, July 15, Sanasie pled guilty to the charge, while the charge against Brathwaite was withdrawn.

Brathwaite was handed over to the Immigration Department, while Sanasie was remanded to Her Majesty Prison to await sentencing. The young man will know his fate when he returns to court on Monday, July 21, 2008.

The seizure came on the heels of a July 3, 2008, when the Coast Guard on a routine patrol at Fannie Bay reportedly saw three men ashore acting suspiciously. It is claimed that when the Coast Guard approached the bay the men ran into the bushes.

A search was carried out in the area and 242 lbs of cannabis was found and vessel confiscated in the operation.