Woman who strapped cocaine to body jailed, fined $8.2M

Angelica Forde, the woman who was intercepted at the Eugene F Correia International Airport with cocaine strapped to her body last week was on Tuesday jailed for four years and fined .2 million, the estimated street value of the illicit drug.

The sentence was handed down by Magistrate Zamina Ally-Seepaul at the Sparendaam Magistrate’s Court.
The woman, who pleaded guilty to the offence on Monday, was being charged along with her husband, James Forde who pleaded not guilty.
They were both charged for the offence which stated that on June 15, 2016, at the Airport, Ogle, East Coast Demerara, they had in their possession three kilograms of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking.
However, the husband told the Court on Monday that he was not involved.
His wife backed his claim, telling the Court on Monday: “I am really sorry. It’s my stuff. No one else was involved.”
However, he was denied bail and remanded to prison until July 15, 2016.
According to reports, the woman was scheduled to board a LIAT flight destined for Barbados and another to travel to the United States of America (USA).
The woman was seen acting in a suspicious manner and upon inspection was found with the narcotics on her person.
However, investigators believe that the woman’s husband, who is a taxi driver, was instrumental in encouraging her to carry the cocaine.