Four persons are expected to appear in court tomorrow in connection with Wednesday morning’s discovery by law enforcement officials of a quantity of cocaine and marijuana on board a Trinidad-bound fishing vessel.
Head of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) James Singh told Stabroek News yesterday that four persons are expected to be placed before the court in connection with the drug find on board the fishing vessel MV Bismarch. He said CANU arrested several other persons yesterday in connection with the drug find.
A source noted yesterday that the owners of the vessel had been under watch by the authorities for some time as the vessel was believed to have been used in the drug trade on several occasions.
On Wednesday morning, CANU ranks along with the GDF Coastguard intercepted the Trinidad-bound fishing vessel with more than 30 kilos of cocaine and undisclosed but significant quantity of marijuana.
Reports are that some time around 10 am on Wednesday, the vessel was stopped by the law enforcement officials in the Demerara River as it was being prepared for departure to the Caribbean island. The vessel was loaded by its owners and was heading out to sea when it was stopped.
A source told this newspaper that the drugs were discovered stashed in fish glue and pieces of equipment on board the vessel.
The captain and four crew members who were on board the vessel at the time were detained by CANU while the vessel was impounded at the Coastguard’s Ruimveldt headquarters.
CANU ranks subsequently launched a search for several persons who are believed to be connected to this latest drug find. The drugs may have been placed on board the vessel after its cargo had been examined by the authorities, the source said.
A law enforcement source yesterday said this indicates a shift in the operations of the drug traffickers as shippers of illegal drugs would follow the required pre-departure inspection procedures without any detection before departing. He said new moves by the drug traffickers have increased in recent times since the authorities have been clamping down more effectively on the drug trade as of late.
It was noted too that the shift in operations of the trade has also resulted in more drug busts being made in other jurisdictions of vessels leaving these shores.
