(Kaieteur News) – A Colombian national was sentenced to four years in prison and fined $82.9 million, while a Venezuelan national was remanded to prison, after the pair appeared before Magistrate Dylon Bess at the Diamond Magistrates’ Court on Monday in connection with a 55-kilogramme cocaine bust at Providence, East Bank Demerara.

The men were identified as Gerardo Martinez, a Venezuelan national, and Revelino Achicue Ascue, a Colombian. Achicue Ascue pleaded guilty to the drug charge and was immediately sentenced. Martinez pleaded not guilty and was remanded to prison to await trial.

According to a press statement from the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU), the cocaine, 50 bricks in total, was discovered on Friday after officers intercepted a vehicle along the Public Road at Providence.