Cook possessing narcotics fined $30,000 with one year imprisonment

54-year-old cook has been sentenced to one year of imprisonment and was fined $30,000 on 22nd April 2024 in Guyana

Wednesday, 24th April 2024

Cook possessing narcotics fined $30,000 with one year imprisonment

Georgetown, Guyana: A 54-year-old cook has been sentenced to one year of imprisonment and was fined $30,000 on 22nd April 2024 in connection to the incident of the last year. His apprehension took place during the operation conducted by the authorities at the checkpoint. The accused has been identified as Dexter Griffith, a cook of Lot 40 Vive La Force, Demerara River, Guyana. He was arrested on 21st June 2023 at the checkpoint for the offense of possessing 199 grams of marijuana. Following his arrest, he was taken to the Bartica Magistrate's Court and was presented before Ms Christel Lambert on 23rd June 2023. He did not plead guilty back then and was granted bail in the sum of $100,000.00. During the initial proceedings in the case, the trials against the accused were scheduled for 11th March 2024, but due to uncertain reasons, they were postponed until 22nd April 2024. Finally, on the scheduled date of the trial, Griffith made his appearance at the Magistrate Court, where he was presented before Teriq Mohamed. During the proceedings, the magistrate read charges against him and punished him to serve one year in prison along with a fine of $30,000. The residents of the community shared their opinions on the matter after the verdict given by the magistrate. They took to their social media accounts and expressed their views through their comments on the news. One person commented, “Why authorities got so late in giving their judgment; I don’t get what is wrong with these authorities. They should be effective and efficient in their work.” Another person commented the following: “Finally, the person is punished for the offence; it should have been done much earlier, but I hope that they will be smart enough to make such decisions on time from the next time.” The residents have requested the administration to implement policies and plans with the motive of tackling the increasing crime rate in the country. The citizens have also raised concern for the youth of the nation in order to protect them from getting indulged in such criminal activities. The authorities have also promised to continue to conduct such operations with the vision to make Guyana a drug-free nation.