Man busted with $17.2M worth in cocaine hidden inside bowl of fried rice

Esmond Jermaine Anderson, a 28-year-old man from the #5 Village on the West Coast of Berbice, was nabbed with cocaine concealed in a bowl of fried rice at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) at TImehri on Friday.

According to a release from the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU), Anderson was about to travel on a Jet Blue Airways flight that was destined for the JFK Airport in New York.

The man’s suitcase was reportedly searched in his presence and the suspected cocaine was found inside the bowl. A field test was conducted that confirmed that the substance was indeed cocaine.

The substance amount to almost three kilograms (or 6.6 pounds). CANU said that this quantity of cocaine has a street value of about US $84,000 (or GY$17.2 million).

Investigations are ongoing.