Venezuelan drug traffickers plead guilty, handed to Immigration

Two Venezuelan drug traffickers were handed over to Immigration officials after being slapped with a $100 000 forthwith fine by the High Court.

Alexander Landaeta Vazquez and Richard Jose Gonzalez Guttierrez admitted in the No. 5A Supreme Court before Justice Christopher Birch that on October 12, 2021, they unlawfully possessed and trafficked 661.25 kilogrammes of cannabis in the Exclusive Economic Zone under Barbados’ Marine Boundaries and Jurisdiction Act, Cap. 387.

Justice Birch imposed a starting sentence of 12 years for the trafficking offence. After considering their guilty pleas, previously clean records, the time spent on remand, and delays in the case reaching court, the judge ordered the men to pay a $100 000 fine forthwith or face an additional two years and 243 days in prison.

They were deemed as having served their time for the possession charge charge and were subsequently handed over to Immigration authorities.

Principal State Counsel Joyann Catwell, who appeared for the State, on behalf of Senior State Counsel Romario Straker and State Counsel Eleazar Williams, read the statement of Coast Guard Petty Officer Nichelas Charlery outlining that as a result of information received while on patrol, he and another officer proceeded in the direction of the Harbour Wall in Bridgetown and intercepted a fishing vessel with the convicted men.

On approaching the vessel, Charlery observed several bulky garbage bags at the bow and centre of the boat. A search of the 24 packages revealed a large quantity of cannabis.