A Guyanese vessel was seized in Bridgetown, Barbados on Thursday with a large quantity of cocaine and marijuana and five Guyanese are now in custody.
It was the second such incident in recent months. In September, a Guyanese vessel was held in St Lucia’s waters with weapons and drugs and six Guyanese aboard were later slapped with a record 60 charges.
A joint operation by anti-narcotics agents here and in Barbados on Thursday led to the seizure of the Guyanese cargo vessel and some 62.5kilogrammes (138 lbs) of cocaine and 183.5 kilogrammes (404.5lbs) of cannabis.
Reports out of Barbados are that seven persons, five Guyanese and two Barbadian nationals, were arrested during the operation and they are expected to be placed before the courts on the island shortly.
The Guyanese vessel, the MV Ocean Harvest, which departed the Fertilizer Wharf on Water Street last Friday, was intercepted by the Barbadian authorities at the Bridgetown Port while a fishing vessel registered on the island was seized off the Sandy Beach area at Christ Church.
According to a local source, the Drug Enforcement Unit (DEU) of the Guyana Revenue Authority searched the MV Ocean Harvest on Friday before it was loaded with cargo at the Water Street Wharf. The DEU carried out another search of the vessel following suspicions, the source noted. The vessel, which is owned by a businessman, departed later in the day with various quantities of fruits, vegetables and ground provisions.
The DEU later contacted their Barbados counterparts and the latter subsequently placed the vessel under surveillance as it travelled to the island. The DEU suspects that the drugs were placed on board the vessel while it was at sea as it is believed to be a key mode of operation of drug traffickers.
Reports are that the Barbados authorities placed the vessel under surveillance as it entered that country’s territorial waters and a smaller vessel approached. The crew members on board both vessels made moves to transfer the drugs to the smaller fishing boat. The entire episode was recorded on camera, a source noted.
The exporter of the goods raised eyebrows as he was said to have been “a normal sailor” working for a West Bank Demerara businessman. The exporter, who is viewed a “front man,” was also tied to a drug bust made earlier this year in Barbados on board the MV Caricom, which is owned by the same businessman.
There have been a series of drug busts in the region on shipping vessels which originated here. Guyana is frequently viewed as a major trans-shipment point for the drug trade.
On Thursday, ranks of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) netted 82 lbs of cocaine following an operation in the Corentyne area. The drugs were reportedly headed for Suriname and four persons were placed before the courts in relation to the find yesterday.
Last month, anti-narcotics authorities in Jamaica uncovered more than 50 lbs of cocaine on board the vessel, MV Vega Azurit which travelled from Guyana. The vessel had been intercepted previously with drugs, including in March when $700M in cocaine was found in a container onboard.
