Local anti-drug authorities and their overseas counterparts have been exchanging information as the probe continues into the discovery of 11.5 tonnes of cocaine in a container of scrap metal in Belgium more than a month ago.
Head of the Customs Anti-Narcotic Unit (CANU) James Singh yesterday told Stabroek News that the investigation remains active.
He said CANU has been working along with its counterpart in Belgium and other entities as they continue to pursue a number of leads surrounding the bust.
Singh could not divulge any other information since he said it may compromise the investigation.
Early last month, 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 has been 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 following the dismantlement of a drug trafficking gang led by a former Belgian counter-narcotics chief, which revealed the existence of tight-knit links between criminal gangs and counter-narcotics and law enforcement officials.
Stabroek News was informed that the shipment departed Guyana on September 25th and was searched by Belgian authorities on October 27th.
Since then, a number of persons including employees of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), have been questioned in relation to the discovery and subsequently released.
Investigators believe that the suspected shipper of the container, Marlon Primo has crucial information that can aid in the probe. But to date, Primo is yet to be located despite several searches.
Both CANU and the police have since issued wanted bulletins for Primo.
Singh yesterday said that a search is ongoing for Primo by both local and overseas counterparts.
Investigators are also hopeful that the scanned images from the GRA of the container will aid their probe. Sources had previously told this newspaper that the scanned images were either deleted or altered.
However, after international help was sought, authorities were able to retrieve the deleted images.
Stabroek News was reliably informed that the GRA has since submitted a folder which contains thousands of images which were retrieved.
CANU is now tasked with trying to match the images with the shipment in question.
Minister of Home Affairs Robeson Benn had 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 the planning for months.
