As officials from the Customs Anti-Narcotic Unit (CANU) continue to search for well-known biker, Stephen Vieira and another man who is wanted in connection with a cocaine bust on Friday at Zeelugt, they are hoping that a Digital Video Recording (DVR) which has been retrieved contains some evidence.
In a press release issued on Monday evening, CANU said that they retrieved a DVR from one of the suspects in custody, Nazim Gafoor at Vreed-en-Hoop, West Coast Demerara. They are hoping to find “material of evidential value”, after analysis, the agency said.
According to the release, “a batch of related (dressed) wood from the very shipper that had already made it onto the wharf” was retrieved.
CANU on Friday conducted a raid at Zeelugt, East Bank Essequibo during which over 84 kilogrames of cocaine with a street value of $550 million was found in dressed lumber.
In a separate statement on Sunday evening, the agency had said that the drugs were found at the Lot 227 Zeelugt premises of Akeem Mohamed. The drugs, the statement said, were found in hollow lumber bound for the United States.
The lumber, pallets of 1×6 boards, had been loaded onto a truck which was parked at the residence. “The said search revealed cocaine found in random boards scattered among genuine boards in each pallet; each of the compromised boards had a dug out cavity with the vaccum sealed plastic packets containing cocaine pasted therein,” the release had said.
“Discovered was a total of 84.986 kilogrammes of cocaine equaling a landed US street value in excess of $550 million,” it added.
CANU had said that its investigation had revealed that the truck was hired to pick up and transport the lumber from Lall’s Sawmill at Lookout, East Bank Essequibo to a wharf at Georgetown.
Three persons, including race driver, Nazim Gafoor and his father, Tazim Gafoor are presently in custody. Tazim, who was among three of the men CANU had said it wanted to speak to, was arrested on Monday afternoon at Parika, EBE.
Vieira and Lall are yet to be apprehended. Lall is said to be out of the jurisdiction, while the agency had said that searches were being made for Vieira.
Several other persons who were initially taken into custody, including the truck driver and a few porters were
released on Monday after a 72-hours detention period had expired and CANU officials were unable to build any case against them.
CANU is asking anyone knowing the whereabouts of Vieira and Lall to make contact with the nearest police station or the agency headquarters on telephone number 226-0431.
