A Trinidadian accused of trafficking cocaine and heroin in the US has been detained and is scheduled to be extradited to Pennsylvania to face trial.
A release from the US Embassy on Wednesday said Shrulan Guppy was arrested on September 26, in a joint operation by Drug Enforcement Administration agents and officers of the elite Transnational Organised Crime Unit (TOCU).
Guppy is accused of trafficking cocaine and heroin valued at US$1 million to the US and has been charged in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the statement said.
The release did not identify where Guppy was arrested, but said a gun and a kilo of cocaine was found at his home during the operation.
Commenting on the arrest, US Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago Candace Bond said: “I am proud of the painstaking work the US Embassy’s DEA agents do every single day to help end drug trafficking and to strengthen citizen security for the people of TT. DEA agents working closely with members of TT law enforcement act as a force multiplier.
"This arrest, following months of investigation and close collaboration between DEA, the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and TT’s TOCU, is another sterling example of our close partnership, and yet more evidence that the US is TT’s most reliable friend and partner in the world.”
The release also quoted Minister of National Security Fitzgerald Hinds as saying: “US DEA agents in Philadelphia and at the US Embassy started working on this case with us in 2020, culminating in this major arrest and extradition order.
"I am gratified that our excellent co-operation has led to this arrest. We count on our American partners in law enforcement to assist us in making TT safer for our communities.”
The release said the US Embassy’s DEA Office personnel and TOCU have been working side by side for almost 20 years.
