Forty-four-year-old Vibert Marks of Independence Street, La Grange, West Bank Demerara (WBD) and of Lot 75 Bedford Avenue, and East Hartford Connecticut USA who was charged for attempting to bribe a member of the Custom Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) after he was caught exporting gold without a license was found guilty.
He would have appeared before Senior Magistrate Faith McGusty at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, February 6, 2020 when the ruling was handed down.
As such, he was fined $75,000 for exporting gold without a license and $50,000 for attempting to bribe a CANU rank. In addition, he was given a non-custodial sentence of one-year imprisonment and the gold in question was forfeited in favour of the Special Organized Crime Unit (SOCU).
Marks initially appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan and denied the charge which alleged that on November 18, 2019, at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), he offered Dominic Smart, a CANU agent, $100,000 as a reward for forbearing to investigate him. He was released on $200,000 bail.
It was reported that on the day in question, the defendant, who is a permanent resident of the United States of America, was an ongoing passenger at CJIA destined for the USA when he was intercepted with a large quantity of raw gold.
However, at the time, he attempted to bribe the agent but was unsuccessful and as such, he was arrested and subsequently charged.
