2 Trinis held in US on cocaine trafficking charges

News Rishard Khan 19 Hrs Ago

- File photo

TWO Trinidadian men were arrested and charged in the Eastern District of Louisiana for conspiracy to import cocaine into the US.

In a news release on December 12, the US Embassy said Daveanan Deonarine and Michael Samsondar were arrested on provisional warrants on December 10 by personnel from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Vetted Unit, supported by the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) Special Investigative Unit (SIU).

It said the charges stem from a DEA investigation, which led to the seizure of 168 kilogrammes of cocaine valued at $234 million on May 18, 2023, in Trinidad.

The embassy said the operation was the largest seizure of drugs during an on-land operation in TT history. It said the men are in custody and are pending extradition to the US. The case was also supported by the Transnational Organised Crime Unit (TOCU).

US Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Dr Jenifer Neidhart de Ortiz said, “The US Embassy’s DEA personnel and TOCU have been working side by side for over two decades. The close working relationship they have fostered, the mutual trust, and their excellent law enforcement work show results in these arrests. Together, the US and Trinidad and Tobago are making the region safer and more secure for all of our citizens. I am proud of the work we do with our Trinbagonian counterparts day in and day out.”

The revelation came as the TTPS seized marijuana valued at over $227 million in two separate incidents between December 10 and 11.

In the most recent incident on the night of December 11, police discovered and seized 23 bales of marijuana wrapped in black plastic in a forested area near South Central Road, Cap-De-Ville, Point Fortin, during anti-crime exercises. The marijuana police said had a street value of 56 million.

Less than 24 hours earlier, police found and seized $171 million of marijuana stashed in the Caroni Swamp.

“The significance of major seizures such as this is measured not only in monetary value, but in the lives protected from the scourge of illegal narcotics. While drug trafficking networks seek to profit from the suffering of others, the TT Police Service will continue to apply maximum effort in the fight against crime and disrupt these criminal enterprises where it impacts them most, by dismantling their operations and depriving them of illicit profits,” Police Commissioner Allister Guevarro said in a release on December 12.