Police have identified a few places in the Berbice River where more raids would be conducted to locate and destroy marijuana fields.
Acting on intelligence, police conducted raids at De Veldt and at Gateroy, about 55 miles up the Berbice River on Wednesday and destroyed several marijuana fields.
Commander of ‘B’ Division Stephen Merai on Thursday said they found a 10-acre farm at Bamboose, lower De Veldt with plants about one to six feet in height. Police also discovered 14 nurseries with several thousand seedlings as well as a large camp – 40 x 40 feet – that was used for drying. They also found 300 kilogramme of dried cannabis along with 14 live 12-gauge shotgun cartridges, a water pump and a spray can. The officers also visited Gateroy, about 55 miles up the Berbice River, where they found an eight acre marijuana farm under cultivation with over 30,000 plants between one to 10 feet in height.
The commander averaged that the drugs weighed several thousand kilogrammes. Four nurseries with thousands of seedlings and 200 grammes of cannabis were found in two camps. However, no arrests were made.
Merai said raids were conducted in those areas earlier in the year but police did not get to return after the focus was shifted to the Canje Creek where several fields were destroyed. Additionally, he noted that the police were also subsequently taken up with the elections and the “crime on the road” and that persons must have replanted during that time. He said he was not finished with that area and that areas had been identified for more raids.
Meanwhile, Merai who will retire in a few days, said he enjoyed his three-year tenure as commander in the division, although he did not expect to stay on so long.
His only complaint, he said, was some police ranks that had to be “pushed” and constantly monitored. According to Merai, there were some ranks that were “good” and “willing to go the extra mile” though. He said serving as commander was “not a bad experience.”
He mentioned that “in terms of hot spots, Canje was our problem [with the gang]. We set up a task force and a permanent patrol… so we don’t get any reports coming out of Canje.”
Merai said too that Rose Hall has a drug problem and that several raids were conducted there. At Tain, he added, there was a problem with the deportees that are in a small gang that springs up now and again and uses an improvised shotgun.
