Home News 23-year-old woman busted trying to ship cocaine in Havan Kund
Ranks of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) on Tuesday arrested a young woman, who attempted to ship cocaine hidden inside several religious items.
The suspect has been identified as 23-year-old Lisa Ramnarine of Hague, West Coast Demerara (WCD).
According to CANU, the discovery was made on Tuesday at the DHL headquarters in Fifth Street, Alberttown, Georgetown.
Reports are that CANU officers, acting on information received, went to the DHL headquarters, where they intercepted a parcel containing a Hindu havan kunt, as well as other religious items.
“The officers examined the items and discovered a hidden compartment within the kunt, which was suspected to contain narcotics. Further examinations determined that a substance suspected to be cocaine was concealed within the religious item,” the anti-narcotics agency said.
It was reported that the sender’s information was retrieved from the package and led CANU ranks to Ramnarine. The young woman was arrested and escorted to CANU headquarters, where the item was dismantled in her presence, and the suspected narcotic thus revealed. The substance tested positive for cocaine and weighed 540 grams.
CANU said the cocaine had a street value of US$2500-US$2700, but would be worth more had it reached its intended destination.
Investigations are ongoing and the suspect is expected to face charges soon.
In February 2021, CANU ranks had unearthed 294 grams of cocaine concealed in a box at the DHL Alberttown location.
Acting on information received, the ranks conducted a search at the shipping business during which they discovered a multi-coloured floral box. Upon checking the box, the cocaine was found in a false wall at the bottom. One person was arrested in relation to that discovery.
One week prior, a Christianburg, Linden couple was arrested for attempting to ship cocaine concealed in fudge via DHL.
Shaka Nunes, a 36-year-old labourer, had pleaded guilty to a narcotics trafficking charge and received a four-year sentence along with a fine of $1.7 million. The charge against his wife was subsequently withdrawn.
It was reported that on February 15, 2021, Nunes had given his wife a box filled with several snacks and asked her to ship it to the United States of America (USA). The DHL Georgetown branch summoned CANU about the suspicious package that arrived from its Linden branch.
This resulted in an inspection and the field test conducted on the contents of the box revealed that the fudge contained 3.692 kilograms of cocaine.
As a result, CANU ranks visited the mailing address in Linden where they met Nunes’ wife, who told them that her husband had given her the package to post.