Carpenter remanded for possession of $489M marijuana

A 37-year-old carpenter was charged and remanded to prison on Tuesday after he found cultivating some $489 million worth of marijuana last week.

Richard “Richie” Burnett of Wiruni Village, Upper Berbice River made his appearance before Magistrate Renita Singh at the New Amsterdam Magistrate’s Court. He pleaded not guilty when the charge was read to him and was subsequently remanded to prison until December 6, 2022.

On Friday last, a Joint Services operation led to the discovery of the millions worth of marijuana at De Veldt Savannah in the Upper Berbice River.

The operation was conducted between 05:00hrs and 14:00hrs with officers and ranks from the Guyana Police Force’s Marine Section and Narcotics Branch and ranks from the Guyana Defence Force Coast Guard.

During the exercise, one marijuana farm, two camps and two drying areas were located.
Police said the farm measured about four acres, with about 20,000 cannabis plants measuring from six inches to two feet in high.

At the first camp, a twelve (12) gauge shotgun, loaded with three live cartridges, one Guyana passport, one Identification card and one birth certificate in favour of the farmer who was arrested, were found.

Searches were also conducted on the second camp where another twelve (12) gauge shotgun along with four (4) live twelve gauge cartridges were found.