Edward McCalmont and John Johnson with the ganja that was found in the minibus
A 40-year-old Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Corporal, has been sentenced to three years in prison and fined over $28 million for drug trafficking.
The sentence was delivered to Edward McCalmont on Wednesday by Principal Magistrate Faith McGusty at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts after McCalmont changed his plea from not guilty to guilty.
The charges against McCalmont stem from a police operation on July 27, 2024. Acting on intelligence, Special Branch and other police units intercepted McCalmont and his colleague, 24-year-old GDF Lance Corporal John Johnson, on Mandela Avenue, Georgetown.
The soldiers were traveling in a Route 42 minibus, owned and driven by McCalmont, which was found to contain 316 pounds of marijuana packed in 49 large parcels.
Both soldiers were arrested and taken to the East La Penitence Police Station in Georgetown, where the narcotics were weighed and confirmed. While McCalmont was sentenced to prison, Johnson, who was initially remanded, was granted $350,000 bail. He is scheduled to return to court on September 25, 2024.
Just days before McCalmont and Johnson’s arrest, two GDF sergeants, Clovis Sam and Adisa Higgins, were also arrested in a separate operation. They were found with 154 pounds of marijuana and have been remanded to prison. That case is ongoing. (G9)
