The government is considering convening public discussion and debate on a draft bill prohibiting persons “who are involved in narco-trade” from participating in national and regional elections, according to Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee.
“Once there is incontrovertible evidence of such a person involved in the narco- trade and that person is standing to be elected at the national or regional elections then we should prohibit that person from so being,” Minister Rohee told reporters at a recent press conference.
Asked whether it was evidence before criminal charges are instituted or based on intelligence available to the relevant agencies, the minister said: “I wouldn’t want to enter into the realm of speculation and be futuristic in my thinking as to how that will play out, I think the principle is what matters.”
However, the minister said he believes that most “people in the country will go along with that,” adding that the matter was not cast in stone but rather it was something that may be debated.
And Minister Rohee announced that with the arrest of a woman in the US who was allegedly in possession of some 50 pounds of cocaine in a pink suitcase that slipped through the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, a major cocaine ring at the airport had been smashed.
“In respect to that pink suitcase issue investigations have revealed thus far that a major drug trafficking ring has been smashed that has been operating at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport,” Rohee told reporters.
According to him persons with “very deep interest” have been affected since a “blow has been dealt to them and this is very significant for us in so far as the fight against drug trafficking is concerned.”
He said the smashing of the ring “shows that the administration is serious about fighting the drug trade.”
Media attention
“Regrettably this matter was not given the level of attention in the media,” the minister said.
Dorothy Sears is awaiting trial in the US for trafficking in narcotics while four persons, two Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) employees and a police officer, have been charged with conspiracy to traffic in narcotics. Two of them have since challenged their arrest in the High Court and a third is expected to follow suit.
Meanwhile, the minister said his ministry and the government are pleased with the number of drugs busts made by the agencies.
“What really matters for us is finding out how, where and when cocaine enters Guyana, that is where the main challenge is,” the minister told reporters.
He said the law enforcement agencies are working hard to find the answers to the questions of how, where, when and who is responsible for bringing in the drugs into Guyana.
“It is our view that once we stop or at least scale down the quantity of drugs entering the country this will place greater pressure on the narco-traffickers and their trade. In fact when you think about it, the cocaine swallowers are striving because the narco traffickers who may have some quantity of cocaine in the country stashed away are having difficulty in getting it out in large quantities,” the minister said.