A Guyana Defence Force Staff Sergeant who had been on trial alongside a fellow rank in a narcotics trafficking case has been acquitted, while the co-accused was convicted by the Friendship Magistrate’s Court.
Staff Sergeant Adisa Higgins was found not guilty after Magistrate Wanda Fortune upheld submissions made on his behalf and ruled that the prosecution had failed to prove its case against him beyond a reasonable doubt.
The charge against Higgins was subsequently dismissed. His co-defendant, Colvis Sam, was, however, found guilty as charged.
The magistrate has postponed sentencing in Sam’s case until Friday, May 15, 2026, while awaiting the value of the narcotics involved.
The matter stemmed from a police operation in May 2024, when Higgins and Sam were intercepted along the Coverden Public Road, East Bank Demerara (EBD), in a Guyana Defence Force vehicle.
Police had reported that the military vehicle was searched near the Prairie Hotel, where officers allegedly found 22 bulky bags containing 154 pounds of cannabis.
Both men were then charged with possession of narcotics for the purpose of trafficking and remanded to prison.
In written submissions filed on Higgins’ behalf, the defence argued that he was only a passenger in the vehicle and that the prosecution had failed to establish knowledge and control over the narcotics: the two essential ingredients needed to prove possession.
The defence further contended that Sam, as the driver of the vehicle, had full control of it, and that there was no evidence directly linking Higgins to the drug parcels.
Among the issues raised were the absence of fingerprint evidence, the lack of photographs showing where the bags were found in the vehicle, and alleged weaknesses in the chain of custody of the suspected narcotics.
