There was no Customs and Trade Administration (CTA) officer present at the John Fernandes Wharf when the container in which some 122.65 kilos of cocaine was discovered in Jamaica was being loaded, sources say.
Stabroek News has been reliably informed that the CTA officer from the Customs Boat House Unit was not present when the exporter and others sealed the container.
In fact, sources indicated that the officer gave the exporter two seals which the exporter placed on the container. It means that the seals that were on the container in Jamaica were genuine ones and not fake seals as was initially believed.
While Commissioner General of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) Khurshid Sattaur had said a day after the bust that the CTA officers were vigilant and diligent in the execution of their duties, this latest revelation tells a different story. He had 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.
However, sources said that the absent customs officer “breached all the customs regulations” with regard to the sealing of containers when he was a no-show at the sealing of the container.
Sources indicated that the officer gave the GRA one story for not being present and when the Customs Anti Narcotics Unit (CANU) took over the investigation he told those investigators another story.
According to reports, the Customs Boat House Unit–whose primary function is to oversee the sealing of containers–is short staffed and it has become habitual for officers to give seals to exporters. But whether or not this was the case with the cocaine container, sources said the officer is in serious trouble as the cocaine may have been placed in the container when he was conveniently absent.
Even if he is not charged and placed before the court, the officer will be disciplined and faces dismissal from his job. Sources said he will need to give a plausible explanation for his absence and it would be difficult for him to prove that he did not deliberately absent himself during the sealing of the container.
This newspaper understands that the logs were loaded into the container at the Caribbean Resources Ltd (CRL) establishment at Houston, East Bank Demerara before it was taken to the John Fernandes Wharf to be sealed. Reports are that the illegal drugs were not placed in the container the same day the logs were loaded, but this newspaper was unable to ascertain how soon after the logs were loaded the container was sealed and shipped.
On March 16, Jamaican authorities busted the cocaine, with a street value of $700 million, among logs in a container on the MV Vega Azurit.
The vessel had left Guyana on March 12.
The cocaine was packed in five bags and concealed among the logs. It is believed that the cocaine was destined for China.
When questioned, the owner of Aroaima Forest Producers Associa-tion (AFPA), which the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) identified as the company for which it cleared the logs in the container, revealed that he had allowed a Chinese national to use his permit to export timber to China.
Attempts by this newspaper to ascertain whether this move by AFPA might have breached any forestry regulations and whether any sanctions can be taken against the company proved futile. This newspaper was unable to make telephone contact with Commissioner of GFC James Singh, but an email query was sent to him, as was advised by his office. It remains unanswered.
The GFC’s investigation had found that the container was switched to the MV Vega Azurit, after being originally booked to leave these shores on another ship. The GFC checked the documents, which were submitted to the shipping company and the CTA, and the vessel’s name listed on the form was changed from the MV Stadt Rotenburg to the MV Vega Azurit.
But sources said there may be an explanation for this and it might not have been that the container was switched to a different ship to facilitate the trafficking of the drugs. The source revealed that sometimes about ten customs forms might be prepared on a particular day and the containers may be listed to go on a particular ship. However, when that ship is ready to sail and the container is still not fully loaded or not sealed it would be left behind and placed on the next available ship.
Meanwhile, Stabroek News understands that CANU has since completed its investigation and the file has been sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for advice. Sources said that the three persons, who were in custody, including the exporter, have since been released on bail. Reports are that they and others will be placed before the court but it is not clear what charges would be laid against them.
This newspaper was reliably informed that the investigators do not believe the men are the masterminds behind the smuggling of the cocaine. It was hoped that the three would have given the investigators the information needed to arrest the person suspected to be the brains behind the operation. But so far not such information has been forthcoming.
And contrary to what was recently announced by the GRA, the container scanner is not up and running as yet. In a notice published in the Guyana Chronicle the GRA had said that from last week Tuesday all containers leaving Guyana will be subjected to inspection using the newly installed scanning equipment. It had said that all inspectors will be done at the Guyana National Shipping Corporation (GNSC) wharf on Lombard Street, where the scanner is installed.
According to the notice, the scanner will reduce the time taken to do an inspection, since the process is non-intrusive and will ultimately increase efficiency. It said too that the scanner will also safeguard against revenue loss. “This new arrangement is part of the GRA’s continued effort to modernise its customs operations and is also one of the trade requirements between Guyana and the United States of America,” the notice said.
Following the bust Sattaur had told Stabroek News that the ship in which the cocaine was found was not scanned before it left Guyana, since the scanning machine that GRA installed last year was 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 were not in place. He pointed out that collaboration with other agencies was also very critical, while noting that as it relates to lumber exports the GFC has to work along with GRA to get the job done.
