Four persons, including a broker, are currently being questioned by the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) as part of its probe of the recent discovery of a huge quantity of cocaine concealed in a shipment of scrap metal that was intercepted in Belgium, while the shipper is still being sought.
CANU Head James Singh yesterday told Sunday Stabroek that apart from the broker, others who have been held for questioning include officials from Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA).
Singh said the suspected shipper of the container, Marlon Primo, is also wanted for questioning. To date, he has not been located.
According to Singh, if safety is a concern for Primo, CANU is willing to offer him protection.
Primo is the proprietor of a company under whose name the container was shipped. The company is located on the East Coast of Demerara.
Local authorities are assisting Belgium and the United States (US) Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) with the investigation.
Last week, law enforcement officials in Belgium announced that they were probing the discovery of 11.5 tonnes of cocaine that they found in the container of scrap metal shipped from Guyana.
The shipment, which is being describe as “the largest overseas drug bust ever, worldwide,” was seized upon its arrival at the Port of Antwerp. It carries an estimated street value of 900 million Euros.
The Brussels Times had reported counter-narcotics prosecutors as saying that they tracked the transatlantic journey of the cocaine from Guyana.
“The massive load of cocaine left a port in Guyana on late October and prosecutors were able to track (it) following the dismantlement of a drug trafficking gang led by a former Belgian counternarcotics chief which revealed the existence of tight-knit links between criminal gangs and counternarcotics and law enforcement officials,” the report explained.
The Belgian newspaper further said that law enforcement officers were expecting the “record-breaking” shipment since it is suspected it left the port of Guyana after the drug gang’s arrest in Belgium.
“Three police officers, a port manager and a lawyer were among twenty others who were arrested as part of the operation which targeted the “well-structured” criminal organisation suspected of orchestrating large and “regular” drug shipments from South America to Belgium,” the report noted.
The dismantlement of the drug gang in late September, the Brussels Times said, had led to the arrest and indictment of 22 persons, three of whom are still in the Netherlands awaiting extradition. “Following the record-breaking drug bust on Wednesday, three others were arrested, including one person who is facing extradition to Belgium from the Netherlands,” the report added.
“Not functioning”
The discovery of the shipment has once again raised questioning about the processing of the containers before they depart Guyana.
Questioned about the matter on Friday, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo during a press conference told reporters that the government is engaging all the relevant agencies in an effort to “get to the bottom” of the matter.
“We have met with all of the agencies including the US and the DEA. We are working closely with them… Any transshipment, we want to catch,” he said.
According to Jagdeo, a number of assessments were done to date, one of which revealed that the scanners at the wharf hasn’t been functioning for a “long” time.
Jagdeo further stated that the interception raises concerns about how many similar shipments might have passed through the ports without being unearthed.
“…We don’t know how many other shipments went through and were never intercepted but we are glad that it’s intercepted and we have to now go after all those people. Go back and find all of those people who were involved,” he explained.
Jagdeo said it appears as though there was a “heavy” local involvement in the matter. “…We intend to get to the bottom of it,” he added.
