Tazim Gafoor and former customs officer Sherwayne DeAbreu were this afternoon jailed for five years and ordered to pay a fine of $178.4M each after a magistrate found them guilty of aiding the trafficking of over 187 pounds of cocaine.
Tazim Gafoor, his son Nazim Gafoor, De Abreu, and super biker Stephen Vieira were all jointly charged with the crime. However, the cases against Vieira and Nazim Gafoor were dismissed after the prosecution failed to prove the offence against them.
According to the charge, between March 1 and May 2, 2017 at a sawmill belonging to Narine Lall, located at Lookout, East Bank Essequibo, the four men aided Hakim Mohamed to traffic 84.986 kilograms of cocaine.
The men had been on trial at the Leonora Magistrates’ Courts before Magistrate Rushelle Liverpool. They had been ordered to post $5M High Court Bail each pending trial.
The four men were arrested and charged in May 2017 after Customs Anti Narcotics Unit (CANU) ranks conducted a raid at the sawmill and found the cocaine concealed in dressed lumber.
Although Tazim and DeAbreu aided Mohamed to traffic the narcotics, charges were never brought against Mohamed as he had struck a deal and testified on behalf of the State.
The drug agency in a release said that ranks conducted a search at the parapet in front of the premises of Mohamed and searched a truck laden with several pallets of 1×6 dressed lumber boards prepared for export.
Several pieces of boards were drilled randomly by the ranks and cocaine was unearthed. CANU had said that Vieria’s name was listed on the shipping documents as a representative of Lall, who an arrest warrant was issued for.
The lumber was packed at a sawmill located at Lookout, East Bank Essequibo belonging to Narine Lall to be transported to a wharf in Georgetown and then shipped to the United States of America, CANU stated.
According to CANU, Tazim Gafoor was placed before the court charged for his role in another cocaine matter. The Lot 39 Menzies Street, Windsor Forest, West Coast Demerara resident was previously chargedSTE with attempting to pervert the course of justice following the discovery of over nine kilogrammes of cocaine.
Vieira was represented by Attorneys-at-Law Latchmie Rahamat, while the others defendants were represented by attorneys-at-law Everston Lammy-Singh (Nazim Gafoor), Glenn Hanoman (Tazim Gafoor), and Nigel Hughes (De Abreu).
Attorney-at-Law Konyo Sandiford appeared for the prosecution.
