In Guyana, a 37-year-old carpenter has pleaded not guilty to charges of cultivating marijuana worth an estimated GUY$489 million (One Guyana dollar=US$0.004 cents) when he appeared in a Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.
Magistrate Renita Singh, sitting at the New Amsterdam Magistrate’s Court, remanded Richard “Richie” Burnett of Wiruni Village, Upper Berbice River, until December 6, when he will make another court appearance.
Last Friday, Burnett was arrested after a joint services operation, involving the Guyana Police Force’s Marine Section and Narcotics Branch and members of the Guyana Defence Force Coast Guard, led to the discovery of the marijuana at De Veldt Savannah in the Upper Berbice River.
The authorities said during the exercise, one marijuana farm, two camps, and two drying areas were located, and the four-acre farm had an estimated 20,000 cannabis plants measuring from six inches to two feet.
The law enforcement authorities also seized a 12-gauge shotgun, loaded with three live cartridges, one Guyana passport, one Identification card, and one birth certificate in favor of the farmer who was arrested.
The police also searched another camp where another 12-gauge shotgun along with four live twelve-gauge cartridges were found.
CMC/
