Colombian held with $1.5M in heroin faces extradition to US

A Colombian national who was held with US $244,200 (over TT$1.5 million) worth of heroin at a Port-of-Spain hotel, may be extradited to the United States to answer to separate narcotics charges.

Jorge Luis Prieto, 36, was charged with possession of 2.22 kilos of heroin for the purpose of trafficking at Port-of-Spain, on Monday night. Prieto appeared yesterday before Chief Mag-istrate Sherman Mc Nicolls in the Port-of-Spain Eighth Mag-istrates’ Court. The heroin was allegedly packaged in 11 plastic bags hidden under the lining of a black suitcase. Prieto was held after officers of the Organised Crime and Narcotics Unit (OCNU) arrested him at a hotel.

United States authorities have requested that Prieto be extradited to the United States where he is wanted in connection with other unrelated narcotics matters. Dressed in a yellow T-shirt and blue jeans, Prieto said he did not speak English. State attorney David West informed the magistrate that an interpreter will be brought to the court today. Magistrate Mc Nicolls then remanded Prieto in custody to today. Prieto’s arrest follows that of two men including a Venezuelan national who were held last Wednesday with $70 million worth of heroin. They were arrested after OCNU officers intercepted a car along Western Main Road, Carenage, and found the heroin hidden in three suitcases.