Marlon Primo, a key figure in the probe of a huge cocaine-in-scrap metal bust, remains elusive despite expanded searches by the authorities here.
Meanwhile, local authorities continue cooperating with law enforcement officials in Belgium and the US Drug Enforcement Adminis-tration (DEA).
This is according to Head of the Customs Anti-Nar-cotic Unit (CANU) James Singh, who when contacted for an update yesterday on the 11.5 tonnes of cocaine interception in Antwerp, Belgium said that two employees of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) remain in custody.
A number of other persons were questioned in relation to the discovery but have since been released, Singh said.
He added that while no additional arrest has been made, a number of searches were conducted in a bid to apprehend the suspected shipper of the container, Primo, but he was not located.
“We have no leads on Primo. Several properties were searched but no luck,” Singh said.
According to Singh, information is being shared about those who are involved in “both ends” of the shipment. However, he noted that this is a separate investigation.
Last week, law enforcement officials in Belgium announced that they were probing the discovery of 11.5 tonnes of cocaine in the container of scrap metal shipped from Guyana.
The shipment, which is being described 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 in 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 Guyana after the drug gang’s arrest in Belgium.
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.
On Monday, Minister of Home Affairs Robeson Benn told reporters that the authorities are “extremely” alarmed that the shipment passed through the surveillance system without being discovered.
He had said that the operation had to have been in planning for months.
Sources close to the investigation had told Stabroek News that the container was scanned but it appears as though the images from the scanner were altered or deleted.
Singh had previously told Stabroek News that five containers were scanned on the day in question. However, GRA has only provided images from four of the five containers.
Up to yesterday, the authorities were still to be provided with images by the GRA of the container.
