Julio Herreira, a 36-year-old Chef from Ecuador, South America, was on Wednesday sentenced to four years imprisonment for cocaine possession and conspiracy to commit forgery.
He was reportedly involved in a United States Visa Scam in Guyana.
With the aid of an interpreter, Herreir appeared before Chief Magistrate (ag) Sherdel Isccas-Marcus at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court and pleaded guilty to the two charges.
It is alleged that Herreira between May 1-23, 2019, at Georgetown, conspired with persons known and unknown to commit a felony, that is to say forgery.
The second charge alleged that on May 27, 2019, at Charlotte Street, Georgetown Herreira had 0.6 grams of cocaine in his possession for the purpose of trafficking.
According to reports, on May 23 ranks from the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) received reports that Herreira and another person were suspected to be masterminds of US visa scam and so they set up a sting operation at DHL, Fifth Street, Alberttown.
Herreira was arrested and two fake US visas were found in his possession.
The Police conducted a further search at the Charlotte Street, Georgetown home where he stayed and found the suspected cocaine inside a cigarette pack.
“I’m sorry, I had no intention of scamming anybody…I had no idea the seriousness of the false visa,” Herreira told the court with the aid of the interpreter.
The Chief Magistrate (ag) imposed a three-year sentence for the charge of conspiracy to commit a felony and one-year imprisonment with a fine of $20,000 for the cocaine charge.