Although “big noise” is being made over interceptions of cocaine shipments due to leave Guyana, nothing is being said about how the drugs are getting into the country in the first place, according to opposition leader Brigadier (rtd) David Granger.
Granger, a former national security adviser who says the absence of a national drug strategy master plan, inadequate equipment and limited manpower will continue to make Guyana susceptible to drug traffickers, told Stabroek News the amounts of cocaine that have been intercepted recently suggest that it is coming in by air, while a security source suggested Venezuela as the point of origin.
In the last two weeks, three large cocaine shipments were intercepted as they were about to leave Guyana, including last Friday when a China-bound shipment of cocaine disguised as fish food and worth $2 billion was unearthed by ranks of the Drug Enforcement Unit of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA).
The cocaine was discovered in bags of fish food in a container at the Guyana National Shipping Company (GNSC) wharf. “The drugs were discovered by officers of the GRA Drug Enforcement Unit (DEU) and Good Examination Unit (GEU) after the container, packed with bags of fish food, was flagged for secondary examination by the Container Scanner Unit,” a statement from the GRA said.
The examination was conducted in the presence of Gilbert Bristol, of 154 Garnett Street, Newtown, Kitty, Georgetown, to whom the consignment belonged, the GRA said, adding that he and an assistant were in custody. They are expected to be arraigned on charges tomorrow.
The cocaine, in the form of pellets (disguised as fish food) was discovered so far in eight of 1500 bags of fish food, the GRA said, adding that the consignee was Angel International Logistics Ltd in China.
“The Customs Anti Narcotics Unit (CANU) was alerted and subsequently came to the scene and took possession of the drugs,” the statement said.
Head of CANU, James Singh, when contacted, confirmed that his unit is investigating the bust and that the shipper and another person are in custody. He said there were three containers of fish feed but the drugs were found in one. Because the cocaine was in pellet form among the fish feed, the CANU head said it was difficult to determine the amount and his officers will now have to painstakingly go through each bag and separate the cocaine from the fish feed.
The strategy of the government and the Customs Anti Narcotics Agency (CANU) is to “create big noise” when cocaine is discovered on its way out, Granger said, while adding that nothing is being detected on its way in.
This situation highlights the need for the drug strategy master plan, he added, while saying that the PPP/C administration and current Minister of Home Affair Clement Rohee has allowed it to lapse for almost two years now. As a result, he said this betrayed the absence of any real intention to enforce such a plan and to build the architecture for its implementation.
According to Granger, the drug problem in Guyana comes down to weaknesses in the areas of material resources, personnel and intelligence.
With 1,100 kilometres of unmanned border between Guyana and Brazil, he said that to effectively patrol this area, an aircraft is needed. “They do not have the equipment and the personnel to enforce counter-narcotics strategies which would work,” he said, while asserting that nothing can be achieved in the fight against smuggling without a master plan. “The master plan has the architecture that is needed,” he said, adding that without that it “it opens the gateway for what is taking place.”
Freeway
A security source, meanwhile, told Stabroek News that the bulk if not all of the cocaine that enters Guyana is coming from Venezuela and is transported by boats to areas of the country, including the capital.
The source said that some time back, a remark was made by a senior member of the judiciary that it makes no sense for Guyana to run behind drug traffickers and prosecute because of the cost that would be attached to Guyana. The source said that the official pointed out that Guyana was just a trans-shipment point and that it would probably be better if smugglers are held in other countries , where there are better resources to prosecute them. This, he said, could be a possible reason why much is not being done about the drug trade here.
Like Granger, the source pointed out that Guyana has hundreds of miles of porous borders, most of which can be found in the Essequibo region. The source said that because of decisions that were made in the past, a “freeway” was opened for not only drug trafficking but for fuel smuggling in that region.
The police are not properly equipped to deal with this issue, it was noted, as the force is not in possession of boats to patrol the water ways in the region.
The source said that the recent busts may be as a result of a fallout among the major players in the drug world, since busts are being made too frequently, which is surprising.
Stabroek News was told by several other security sources that Guyana’s interior is the ideal spot for drug smugglers as with the absence of security and a bushy terrain, small planes can land on illegal airstrips or in small clearing without being detected.
The government’s failure to proactively pursue a counter-narcotics strategy, Granger said, is among the reasons for the opposition’s move for the removal of Rohee. He explained that the opposition feels that “his removal is essential to any counter narcotics strategy as he is part of the problem,” while adding that the call is not based on a personal vendetta against the minister.
Granger stated that the US’s Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and particularly their operations out of T&T and Suriname, which has not been allowed to set up office here, has been very active and providing intelligence that led to the recent cocaine busts.
New methods
Security sources have said that as drug smugglers become desperate to get the drugs out of Guyana, they would come up with ingenious ways to hide it. There has also been evidence that cocaine is being shifted to the east as opposed to the north to countries such as the United States and Canada, where large shipments were being intercepted.
New methods
New methods of smuggling come about as the security forces get on top of existing methods of smuggling. It was pointed out that smugglers who have an abundance of resources available to them are constantly in search of ways to avoid detection.
“The trafficker’s intention is to stay ahead of the game by discovering or creating new methods of concealment to deceive law enforcement operatives and to perpetuate their illicit trade,” a source said, while adding that the fact that narco operatives are finding more and different methods of concealment seem to suggests that there are locations where the work of concealment is taking place without detection.
The source added that it is the work of intelligence officers to determine where these locations are in Georgetown, the rural areas or the interior.
According to the source it is difficult to satisfactorily explain why the authorities have not been successful in the past. “Failure of intelligence gathering can explain that… There is no doubt that large quantities of cocaine enter Guyana through our interior, whether it be through some point of the wide expanse of Rupununi territory, or through the Mazaruni or North West District, or by air in anyone of these areas,” the source pointed out.
It was noted that one must also realize that drug traffickers have more money to pay to keep people quiet or by extension the nature of their operations might keep people in fear and force them to remain silent.
Drinking straws
Friday’s bust followed another on the previous day, during which ranks of the Guyana Police Force discovered 46 pounds of cocaine in drinking straws at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport.
At around 3.30 am, acting on information received, ranks of the Police Narcotics Branch at the airport conducted a search of boxes of mangoes consigned for shipment to Canada. A total of 21 kilogrammes, 874 grammes of cocaine were found concealed in macaroni boxes, which were among the mangoes.
A law enforcement source had explained to this newspaper that while inspecting the shipment, ranks found several boxes containing packets of a locally produced “long macaroni.” The source said that the ranks opened the box for inspection and immediately became suspicious as the contents of the packages looked strange.
According to the source, on further inspection the ranks discovered that the noodles had been replaced with drinking straws, which had been stuffed with cocaine. The source said that the perpetrators then sprayed each straw to resemble the noodles.
Several persons remain in custody, including the shipper and they are expected to make their first court appearance on tomorrow.
Soap powder
In addition, on Thursday, November 29, over 327.7 kilogrammes of cocaine were found concealed in packages of Foam and Breeze soap power, which was in a container at the John Fernandes Limited terminal on Mandela Avenue.
The shipment was flagged for secondary examination by the Container Scanner unit. The examination was done during a four-day period.
The total weight of the drugs found in clear plastic bags was 300 kilos, worth US$10M and the consignee was identified as Okeke Michael Okwudili, 26 Nacho Shed, Maladi, Niger.
Dennis Jones, the exporter, was later arrested and charged. He was sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty.