Following a joint effort involving local and U.S. officials, a suspect has been arrested and will be extradited to face drug trafficking charges.

According to a statement from the U.S. Embassy, Shurlan Guppy was held yesterday and is charged with trafficking heroin and cocaine valued at US$1 million to the United States.

A firearm and one kilogram of cocaine were also found at his residence.

Guppy is charged in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and will be extradited to face charges.

The investigation was carried out by agents attached to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration office at the U.S. Embassy and assisted the T&T Transnational Organized Crime Unit.

Regarding the arrest, U.S. Ambassador Candace Bond said, “I am proud of the painstaking work the U.S. Embassy’s DEA agents do every single day to help end drug trafficking and to strengthen citizen security for the people of Trinidad and Tobago. DEA agents working closely with members of Trinidad and Tobago law enforcement act as a force multiplier. This arrest, following months of investigation and close collaboration between DEA, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and Trinidad and Tobago’s TOCU, is another sterling example of our close partnership, and yet more evidence that the United States is Trinidad and Tobago’s most reliable friend and partner in the world.”

Also commenting was National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds who said, “U.S. DEA agents in Philadelphia and at the U.S. Embassy started working on this case with us in 2020, culminating in this major arrest and extradition order. I am gratified that our excellent cooperation has led to this arrest. We count on our American partners in law enforcement to assist us in making Trinidad and Tobago safer for our communities.”