55.3kg cocaine bust lands one in jail, one on remand
July 29 2026
The Customs Anti-Narcotic Unit (CANU) has seized more than 55 kilograms of cocaine following an operation at Providence Public Road, East Bank Demerara, resulting in the arrest and charging of two foreign nationals.
According to CANU, officers intercepted a motor vehicle on Friday, July 24, 2026, and during a search discovered 50 brick-like parcels of cocaine weighing 55.296 kilograms.
The two men arrested were identified as Gerardo Martinez, a Venezuelan national, and Revelino Achicue Ascue, a Colombian national.
Both men appeared before Magistrate Bess at the Diamond Magistrates’ Court. Ascue pleaded guilty to the offence and was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment and fined $82,944,000.
Martinez pleaded not guilty and was remanded to prison.
CANU also disclosed that several other foreign and Guyanese nationals remain in custody as investigations continue.
