-4,000 plants destroyed
Police arrested three persons on Saturday and destroyed a marijuana field and two camps while seizing a quantity of chemicals and other items during a raid at Sand Hills, 60 miles up the Berbice River.
Police trekked two miles through a bushy trail and pounced on the owner of the farm and two of his employees at midmorning as they were tending to the plants.
They then interrogated the men and proceeded to uproot and destroy 4,000 plants that were two to four feet in length. They were found on a two-acre plot of land while a few plants that were about six feet long were taken by the police as evidence.
Among the other items seized at the farm were two spray cans and a Stihl motor-blower. Four acres of land had already been prepared for cultivation.
A search was also conducted at the owner’s house on the western side of the river and 150 pounds of compressed weed, two measuring scales and several bags of fertilizers were unearthed.
Commander of ‘B’ Division, Stephen Merai also accompanied the ranks on the raid which was headed by Assistant Superintendant of Police, Fazil Karimbaksh.
A similar exercise was also conducted simultaneously in the Canje Creek but upon seeing the police a few persons abandoned a boat with an outboard engine and escaped. The engine was intercepted.
The police searched relentlessly for a ganja farm but came up empty-handed. They came across a camp reportedly used by the drug dealers. Several boats were stopped and searched along the way but “nothing of evidential value was found”, sources say.
Merai said the operation which would be ongoing is aimed at “cutting the supply line for the drug dealers.” It would also help with the eradication of the drugs as the law enforcers attempt to “starve the traffickers on Berbice.”
He thanked the public for coming forward with the information and said the three persons who are in custody would be charged soon.
He said the exercise was a success “due to the input by the Commissioner” of Police, Henry Greene who provided ‘B’ Division with a faster boat a few days ago.
The commander told this newspaper that the fibreglass speedboat which has the capacity to accommodate 18 persons is ideal for such operation and had made its maiden trip that day. It would also be used in “enforcing maritime operations”.
Meanwhile, the force has been in charge of the security of the Berbice River Bridge after seven pieces of equipment, weighing 1,000 pounds each were stolen from the retractor span about two weeks ago.
According to Merai, the pieces of equipment were quickly replaced even as several scrap metal dealers and fabricators were taken into custody and subsequently released.
He stressed that “anyone found stealing from the bridge would be dealt with severely.”
There has also been increased security during the night at the mouth of the Berbice River where the Oldendorff Bauxite Company operates from.
Recently, pirates attacked workers on a barge belonging to the company and attempted to steal a quantity of fuel but their efforts were thwarted after the captain of a tug rammed the pirates’ boat, causing it to sink.
The pirates managed to escape and five persons were later arrested and released. A man from East Bank Berbice was caught with five jars of fuel and charged with the offence.
The fuel was tested by the Guyana Energy Agency and while it was not from the bauxite company, it was reportedly “smuggled fuel.”
