In a major anti-narcotics operation in Guyana, one man has received a prison sentence and heavy fine after admitting to large-scale cocaine trafficking, while multiple other suspects remain in custody for ongoing investigations, the country’s Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) announced Wednesday. The operation was first launched on July 24, when CANU officers intercepted a moving vehicle along Providence Public Road, located in the East Bank Demerara region. Two men — Venezuelan national Gerardo Martinez and Colombian national Revelino Ascue — were taken into custody at the scene of the stop.
A systematic search of the intercepted vehicle uncovered 50 tightly compressed, brick-shaped parcels containing cocaine, with a total recorded weight of 55.296 kilograms. A third Colombian suspect, whose identity has not been released in detail by authorities, has also entered a guilty plea to charges of possession of 56.296 kilograms of cocaine with intent to traffic, bringing the total seizure weight connected to the case to more than 56 kilograms.
During a court hearing before Diamond Magistrate Dylon Bess, the guilty-pleading Colombian defendant was formally sentenced: he will serve four years behind bars and is required to pay a fine of 82,944,000 Guyanese dollars, equivalent to approximately $316,000 USD. Martinez, the second suspect arrested in the July 24 vehicle stop, has entered a not guilty plea to the trafficking charges against him. He has been remanded to prison as the legal process moves forward.
In addition to the two men arrested during the vehicle stop, CANU confirmed that multiple other individuals — including both foreign nationals and Guyanese citizens — are currently being held as the agency continues its probe into what authorities believe is a coordinated cross-border drug trafficking ring operating in the region. CANU, a specialized law enforcement division under Guyana’s Ministry of Home Affairs, has not released additional details on the other suspects or the broader investigation timeline as of Wednesday’s update.