Anti-drug agents are working to find the persons who spearheaded the operation to conceal nearly 700 pounds of cocaine in hollowed logs and up to press time last evening no additional arrests had been made.
Contacted yesterday James Singh, head of the Customs Anti Narcotics Unit (CANU), the entity conducting the investigation into the second biggest cocaine haul in Guyana’s history, said investigations are continuing.
He stressed that they want to ensure that a thorough investigation is done before any charges are laid.
Following the discovery of the drugs last Tuesday during a search of a container at the Guyana Timber Products Inc located at Lot 80 Soesdyke Public Road, East Bank Demerara, four persons were arrested; one Dutch national and three Guyanese.
One of the Guyanese, who is a forklift operator at the Dutch-owned company, was released the same day while the other three remained in custody. The Dutchman was released last Thursday night after his lawyer filed Habeas Corpus proceedings in the High Court. The other two persons were released the following day.
A source close to the investigation pointed out yesterday that a lot of thought and handiwork went into the concealing of the drugs which carried a total weight of 359.8 kilos. The logs were being prepared by the Guyana Timber Products Inc for shipment to the Netherlands (Holland).
The source said the investigators are not so much interested in the persons working at the lumberyard but rather are working around the clock to find the persons who spearheaded the shipment.
Stabroek News was told that the logs were not manufactured by persons at the lumberyard, but rather they were taken there. From all indications, the cocaine filled logs were taken to the Soesdyke location where they were packed into the container. The container was then transported to a city wharf.
The source said anti drug agents want to know who supplied the logs; how and when they were transported to Soesdyke; who loaded them onto the vehicle that transported them there and who off-loaded them.
According to the source, from all indications this was a complex operation that had many hands and minds involved.
Based on the information received by Stabroek News, the company has been on the radar of anti-narcotics officials for some time now, following a previous discovery. Stabroek News was told that the relevant officials had been put on alert to pay special attention to anything being shipped under the company’s name.
CANU ranks only became aware that there were things wrong with the container on Tuesday. The container was escorted from the wharf to the Soesdyke address where each log in the container was searched.
The hollow logs were subsequently found with packets of cocaine concealed inside. As many as 20 packets were found in a single log. A total of 314 packets of cocaine were found.
The drugs were destined for Holland, where the value is estimated at approximately US$25,000 ($5 million) per kilogramme.
