Ex-media worker pleads guilty, two others get bail over CJIA $5M cocaine bust

A former media worker attached to the Department of Public Information (DPI) was remanded to prison, while an ex-officer of the Customs Anti-Narcotic Unit (CANU) and a Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) officer were released on $750,000 bail after the $5 million cocaine bust at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA).

33-year-old Anil Sookhoo of Kuru Kuru Linden Soesdyke Highway, 27-year-old Shameka Caesar of Durban Street, Worthmanville, Georgetown, and 25-year-old Zanneel Williams of Lamaha Gardens, Georgetown was hauled before Magistrate Sunil Scare in the Diamond/Golden Grove Magistrate’s Court.

On April 22, 2022, CANU Officers at the airport intercepted Williams, who was an outgoing passenger destined for the United States, with a quantity of suspected cocaine concealed within her carry-on bag.

She was arrested and escorted to CANU's Headquarters with the suspected narcotics, and a further search of her revealed a quantity of suspected cocaine strapped to her body.

The narcotics tested positive for cocaine, with a total weight of 9.6 kilograms with a street value of over $5 million. Further investigations led to the arrests of Sookhoo and Caesar.

When Williams appeared in Court today, she pleaded guilty to the drug trafficking charge and was remanded to prison until May 30, 2022, for sentencing. The Magistrate also ordered that she undergo a psychiatric evaluation and a probation report. On the other hand, Caesar and Sookhoo were released on $750,000 bail.