2 remain in custody, hunt continues for 3 others

0M cocaine bust

Race car driver Nazim Gafoor, son of wanted West Coast Demerara businessman Tazim Gafoor, remains — with Hakeem Mohamed — in custody of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) in relation to the recent Gy$550M drug bust made at Zeelugt, East Bank Essequibo.
Guyana Times has been informed that CANU’s application to the High Court to further detain these two men has been met with success. It is believed that this duo is withholding information in regard to the drug bust.
The porters and driver of a lorry involved in transporting the lumber were released on Monday evening, since it has been established that they had only been contracted to transport the consignment of lumber. Guyana Times has been told that CANU is still seeking to apprehend ace rider Stephen Vieira; Winsor Forest businessman Tazim Gafoor, and sawmill owner, Narine Lall. Contacted late Monday afternoon, acting head of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit, Michael Atherly, told Guyana Times that the three men have not presented themselves to the drug enforcement unit for questioning. He noted that CANU would, in due course, issue wanted bulletins for the three men, but is currently gathered information with respect to the operations.

Recap
On Friday last, members of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) swooped down on a lumber yard at Lot 227 Zeelugt, East Bank Essequibo and conducted a search on a truck that was laden with several pallets of 1×6 dressed lumber, being prepared for export to the United States.
Several boards were randomly drilled during the search, and a whitish substance suspected to be cocaine was discovered.
The truck at reference was escorted to CANU Headquarters, where the lumber was further examined and it was established that each of the compromised boards had a dugout cavity with vacuum sealed plastic packets containing cocaine pasted therein. A total of 84.986 kilograms of cocaine, which has a street value of Gy$550 million, was discovered. Four workers at the lumber yard at the time were taken into police custody, where they remained throughout the weekend assisting with the investigations.
Meanwhile, further investigations by the CANU ranks have led to the arrest of popular race car driver Nazim Gafoor and Haleem Mohamed. CANU, in a release, has said that Vieira is listed on the shipping documents as the representative of Naraine Lall, who is the shipper of the consignment. Searches for Vieira and the two others have proved futile, and it is believed that Lall is out of the jurisdiction. The trio was, up to news time, still at large. No charges have yet been filed.