A quantity of imported cannabis was intercepted in a box shipped from the United States on Friday at Muneshwers Shipping Limited.
Based on information received, on the day in question, agents of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) were contacted by the shipping company after several packages of cannabis were discovered in a box.
Upon arriving at the location, CANU officers conducted additional searches before taking possession of the box which was subsequently transported to its headquarters along with an employee of the shipping company who made the discovery.
The imported ganja found at the shipping company
The cannabis was weighed and amounted to 1.920 kilograms. Investigations are ongoing.
Only recently, CANU Head James Singh noted that the unit wants to send a strong message that the Government is serious about fighting narcotics trafficking within Guyana and also that Guyana will not be used as a transhipment point for narcotics to other territories.
He made these comments earlier in the month when CANU destroyed 140.6 kilograms (kg) of seized cocaine and 454.7kg of seized marijuana. This totals around 596kg of narcotics that were destroyed and are from cases that have concluded in the Magistrates’ Courts.
But in 2022, 3.7 tonnes of marijuana and over 124kg of cocaine were seized from various ports of entry and through operations conducted by CANU. Some matters are pending in the Magistrate’s Court.
On this note, Singh raised concerns about the amount of time it takes for a person found with narcotics to be prosecuted.
“While I do not want to criticise the Judiciary, I guess there’s a backlog but it doesn’t help when you arrest someone today and they’re placed on bail and their cases are being called until four, five months after. It’s been seen as not mocking us but here it is we have seized you with the drugs, we have seized the drugs, we have arrested you, we have put you before the court only for you to be placed on bail. It’s a bit disheartening at times,” he noted.
Meanwhile, Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn assured that Government will continue to support the unit as they work to prevent Guyana from being used as a transhipment point for drug trafficking.
