Law enforcement authorities have discovered that the Guyanese rice shipment, in which Jamaican authorities discovered over 100 pounds of cocaine, had been taken to Suriname before being transported to the island.
Stabroek News was told by law enforcement sources that the shipment was checked by the relevant authorities here before the container was placed on a ship, which then set sail for neighbouring Suriname. While in Suriname, the container was transferred to another vessel, which later set sail for Jamaica, where authorities discovered a bag with approximately 52 kilogrammes of cocaine in the container.
According to a statement issued by the Jamaican police, detectives attached to the Narcotics Division discovered the drugs during a search of the container at a property on Savannah Avenue in Kingston on Tuesday evening. During a search of the container, a bag with 48 parcels, each containing cocaine, was found. The cocaine has an estimated value of over $98M.
Sources say that it is now suspected that it was while in Suriname that the cocaine was placed in the container.
Stabroek News has been unable to establish whether the Suriname stop was a scheduled one and whether the seal on the container was tampered with. The identity of the shipper is still unknown.
It has been confirmed that no suspects have been detained thus far for questioning.
When contacted, head of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) James Singh said that the investigation is still ongoing.
