27kg of cocaine found in checked bag on CAL plane in Guyana; authorities detail 8 airline employees

A report in the Washington Post newspaper says eight employees of Caribbean Airlines have been detained in Guyana in connection with the discovery of 27 kilos of cocaine in suitcases aboard a flight from Guyana to New York.

The paper said authorities at Cheddi Jagan International Airport found the drugs over the weekend.

It quoted anti-narcotics official James Singh as saying that officials found the drugs in a checked suitcase aboard a Caribbean Airlines plane. The drugs were found late Saturday after the flight had boarded, the Post reported.

The newspaper report said 12 airport employees in Guyana were fired earlier this year after someone threw a bag with 23 kilos of cocaine over a perimeter fence. Guyana is a known transit point for South American drugs bound for the U.S. and Europe.
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