The container busted in Jamaica last week with $700M in cocaine was switched to the MV Vega Azurit after being originally booked to leave these shores on another ship, according to Commissioner of Forests, James Singh.
Singh, in a letter to Commissioner – General of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), Khurshid Sattaur, said that sometime after the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) checked the documents which were then submitted to the shipping company and the Customs and Trade Administration (CTA), the vessel’s name listed on the form was changed from the MV Stadt Rotenburg to the Vega Azurit.
He said for this to have been executed, it may have required the assistance of person(s) from the CTA and possibly the shipping company as well. The document also revealed that there was an extra container since only seven had gone through the GFC checks.
Singh’s letter, which was seen by Stabroek News, was dated last Saturday and was also copied to Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr Roger Luncheon and Minister of Agriculture, Robert Persaud. It was in response to a Stabroek News report in which Sattaur stated that customs did not check the container in which the five bags of cocaine were found but rather this was done by the GFC.
After outlining the GFC’s responsibilities as it relates to exports of forest produce, Singh stressed that the Commission has absolutely no responsibility for the packing of forest produce into containers, or the examining and sealing of any container destined for export.
According to Singh, from documentation provided, it is clearly shown that the CTA received the customs declaration (C72) forms on March 1 and gave the “ok to load” on March 2 to the Examining Officer who then examined and sealed the containers including the cocaine container – ZCSU 8316084 – on March 11.
“The GFC cannot be held responsible for the clearing of this container for export as is erroneously stated in the Stabroek News article,” Singh said in his letter.
Singh revealed that since the bust, which was made by Jamaican customs last Wednesday afternoon, the GFC contacted the Head of the Transnational Crime and Narcotics Division (TCND) of the Jamaican Police Force, SSP. Warren C. Clarke, by telephone and his email address was later obtained.
Clarke supplied the container number, ZCSU 8316084, which was traced to the John Fernandes Wharf and which was shipped by ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd and confirmed as being shipped on Vega Azurit on March 12.
“This container number was listed on export documents covering a shipment of logs by the Aroaima Forest Producers Association. (AFAPA) Export Licence BER 05602011 which was slated for shipment via MV Stadt Rotenburg,” Singh said.
Extra container
He revealed that the produce was graded and inspected in Aroraima and a GFC Grading Inspector signed off the Timber Marketing Certificate (TMC) document on February 18 stating that 180 pieces of logs were inspected. The Aroaima Company on February 25 applied to the GFC for an export certificate to export 130 pieces of the already inspected 180 logs.
Singh said based on the fact that the produce was independently verified and checked by the GFC Grading Inspector, the Commission approved the export certificate.
The GFC’s investigation revealed that while CTA checked and sealed seven containers on February 28, eight containers are stated on the C 72 form. He noted the switching of the ships on which the container was destined to leave.
Singh said that a physical inspection of the logs and containers at the terminal in Jamaica has already established that the container in question was part of the original shipment. He stressed that the GFC is confident that it has robust procedures in place and reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to working with the GRA to ensure the credibility and integrity of Guyana’s forest produce exports.
On Friday Sattaur had told this newspaper that preliminary investigations revealed that customs officers were vigilant and diligent in the execution of their duties but the container with the cocaine was not subjected to a customs search. He stated that customs procedures in this case were well tested and questioned how the container could enter a ship when it was not booked on the shipping record.
“How did it end up there?” Sattaur had questioned since, according to him, his customs officers are totally oblivious to that particular container. He quickly added though that he was not saying that the customs officers involved were exonerated, but maintained that the container was not searched by them. Sattaur has called for a full scale investigation involving the police and said he would be seeking independent assistance as there is need to investigate fully everything that happened before the ship left Guyana.
He maintained that the container was not sealed by customs but rather it was cleared by the GFC. According to him, he examined a lot of the documents that have since been forwarded to him and has detected that customs operated aboveboard on this recent incident. He said the incident occurred outside of customs procedures and questioned why persons were pointing fingers at customs. The Commissioner-General said he is currently investigating every aspect of customs involvement with the shipment and is going to extend the probe to include an external investigator because he wants full transparency.
“This is worrying to me. That cocaine went out on a ship which customs checked and we didn’t know about that container,” Sattaur had said.
On Wednesday last, Jamaican customs authorities discovered the five bags containing 122.65 kgs of cocaine with a street value of $700 million among timber in a container on the Vega Azurit. Reports had indicated that the vessel, which left from the John Fernandes Wharf, is one that frequents Guyana almost twice weekly. The vessel had arrived in Guyana on March 11 and left the following day.
Customs officers have been responsible for incoming and outgoing vessels since Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) officers were removed from the wharves some time last year. Sources had told Stabroek News that the name of the shipper and other information would not have been difficult to ascertain, since a customs officer would have had to check the container before it was sealed. One source had pointed out that the officer would have had documentation on the work he would have carried out and pointed out that the officer should have seen the bags before putting a seal on the container.
Earlier Sattaur had said that the ship was not scanned before it left Guyana since the scanning machine that GRA installed last year is still to be made operational.
He had added that the GRA received the mandate last April to expand its operations to checking exports leaving the country on ships, and according to him the agency has been working effectively to execute the mandate though it has been challenging. He said the GRA cannot be blamed for lapses in the system because all the equipment and the expertise to get the job done are not in place. He pointed out that collaboration with other agencies is also very critical, while noting that as it relates to lumber exports the GFC has to work along with the GRA to get the job done.
The exit of an extra container from the port along with the illicit substance could have serious consequences as US authorities have been trying to ensure that security at Caribbean wharves is beefed up to prevent the possibility of any type of terrorist attack.
