A grandmother looking to raise quick cash was on Thursday sentenced to 4 years in prison and fined $6.2M after she pleaded guilty to the charge of attempting to traffic cocaine.
Seeta Rampersaud, 59, was in tears as the court heard that on September 18, 2017, she was intercepted in the scanning area of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) by a Customs Anti Narcotics Unit (CANU) officer who noticed strange items in her carrying case. Upon further inspection, it was observed that a quantity of cocaine ( 2.318kg) was hidden away in a secret compartment at the back of suitcase.
The unemployed woman sought to explain to the Chief Magistrate, Ann McLennan, that she was recently laid off from a job where she resided in Suriname and had only just come back to Guyana when she became friends with a woman identified as “Nandy” in a minibus.
She said that the woman gave her a contact number for another person, and indicated that he would be able to help her raise funds and all she has to do is travel abroad.
Shortly after meeting the man -who had not identified himself- Rampersaud said she was instructed to travel to New York with a suitcase that her recruiter provided her with.
The elderly woman indicated that she had asked if it was laced with cocaine and the man had answered in the negative.
