Cop, Venezuelan held with coke

A POLICE officer with over 20 years’ service will today appear before a Siparia magistrate charged with possession of cocaine. The officer was held along with a Venezuelan national following an exercise conducted by members of the Firearm Interdiction Unit (FIU) on Saturday morning in the Santa Flora district.

According to reports, at about 10.30 am the officers conducted a sting operation following a tip off. Reports state that the 42-year-old police officer, of Grand Ravine Road, Carapal was picked up by the officers while waiting for a taxi in the Rancho Quemado area. When searched, the officers found five and a half kilos of the illegal substance hidden in a pigtail bucket. Following the arrest of the Police Constable, a 32-year-old Venezuelan man was arrested by the officers at a house in Beverly Trace Rancho Quemado.

The Venezuelan of Tucupita in Venezuela was held after FIU officers found a bag containing four and a half kilos of cocaine in his possession. The find altogether is estimated at $1 million. Both men were taken to the Santa Flora Police station where they were charged for the offence. The exercise was conducted by Supt Errol Dillon of the FIU. Investigations are continuing.