Julio Harreira of Ecuador was slapped with cocaine possession and fraud charges and taken to the Georgetown Magistrate’s Courts on Wednesday.
Harreira stood before Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus and admitted to both charges, which stated that on May 23 at Charlotte Street, Georgetown he had in his possession 0.6grams of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking.
The second charge stated that between May 1 and 23, 2019 in Georgetown he conspired with person(s) unknown to commit forgery.
Police Prosecutor Adduni Innis told the court that ranks of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Headquarters were conducting an operation at a shipping company at Fifth Street, Alberttown, Georgetown when a search was carried out on eight persons.
According to the prosecutor, two passports with forged US visas were found in their possession. After the items were found, a further search was conducted, and the cocaine was found in a cigarette pack.
The accused was arrested and was taken to the CID Headquarters, where he admitted to both offence. The file was sent to the Department of Public Prosecutions for advice, in which they advised immediate deportation.
Harreira told the court that he had no intention of scamming anyone in Guyana, adding that he was sorry for the offence committed. He furthered begged the Magistrate Isaacs-Marcus for a lenient sentence, and urge the magistrate to take into consideration to the fact that he has no family members in Guyana.
As a result, Magistrate Isaacs -Marcus sentenced Harreira to one-year imprisonment for possession of cocaine and $20,000 fine, along with four years imprisonment for the forgery. The sentences were ordered to run concurrently.
