Essequibo Coast man jailed, fined $12M for trafficking imported ganja
Charity Magistrate Esther Sam on Wednesday sentenced 38-year-old Naresh Ramdeen of Jacklow, Pomeroon River, Region Two to two years’ imprisonment after finding him guilty of being in possession of more than 30 pounds of imported ganja, for which he was busted back in March 2023. In addition, she imposed on him a fine of $12 million.
Jailed: Naresh Ramdeen
Ramdeen and another man had, in March 2023, been charged and remanded to prison for being in possession of 13.34 kilograms of imported ganja for the purpose of trafficking. They had been
arrested by agents of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) with the imported ganja during an operation conducted at Charity Street in Charity, Essequibo, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam).
CANU has said that, on the day in question, its officers had intercepted motor vehicle HD 1880 at Charity Street in Charity, Essequibo, and at the time of interception, the vehicle had two occupants.
The imported ganja found during the operation
A search was conducted on the vehicle, and 12 brick-like parcels suspected to be cannabis were unearthed. The narcotic was tested and found to be imported ganja, weighing approximately 30 lbs. (13.34 kg) and having an estimated street value of $5 million.
