CANU unearths $17M cocaine in container at city wharf

Ranks of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) on Saturday discovered several parcels of cocaine at the Demerara Shipping Limited wharf on Lombard Street, Georgetown.
In a statement, it was revealed that the CANU Officers, acting on intelligence, conducted an operation at the wharf – a subsidiary of the Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL) – during which they discovered a bag containing several parcels of suspected cocaine inside a container.
The suspected narcotic – a total of 21 parcels – was transported to CANU Headquarters, where it tested positive for cocaine that weighed a total of 24.63 kilograms or 54.29 pounds.

According to CANU, this cocaine has a street value of approximately $17 million.
“However, the fact that it was discovered on the wharf, indicates that it was intended for transhipment to another overseas territory which would have increased its street value,” the Anti-Narcotics agency explained.
Nevertheless, investigations are ongoing into the narcotics bust.
Only last November, authorities in The Netherlands discovered over 1100lbs of cocaine in a rum shipment that departed Guyana. The cargo belonged to DDL and the company contended that the shipment was not contaminated here.
The local distilling giant had also expressed concerns about international shipping routes which necessitate transhipment through certain other countries.
At the time, CANU Head James Singh had explained that the container left Guyana drug-free since it was scanned before departure.

Cargo training
Meanwhile, CANU mentioned on Saturday that its agents and officers from other agencies recently participated in several maritime training courses which included container cargo operations and vessel searches.
According to CANU, these courses were facilitated by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and United States Government. They were aimed at strengthening the capabilities of law enforcement units operating at port facilities around the country.
Back in January of this year, CANU officers had discovered 16.046kg (36lbs) of marijuana, worth $14 million, on a vessel docked at the Guyana National Industrial Company Incorporated (GNIC) Wharf, Lombard Street, Georgetown.
A CANU operation at the GNIC Wharf saw officers from the Special Operations section conducting a search on the vessel that was scheduled to leave Port Georgetown on the morning of January 19 with a quantity of cement.
However, the narcotics were discovered on the foreign-registered vessel that had a crew of 19 foreign nationals.
Three persons were charged in relation to that discovery.
A national of the Dominican Republic, Fredy Diaz Cabrera, was jailed for four years and six months along with a fine $14 million after he pleaded guilty to the trafficking charge.
Meanwhile, the two other persons – the mother of Cabrera’s child, Epiphany McLennan called “Tiffany” of B Field Sophia, Greater Georgetown, and Eustace Rodrigues called “Fine Man” of Albouystown, Georgetown, were remanded after pleading not guilty to the same charge.