Joint Services stumble on over $500M worth of ganja in Berbice

A party of policemen from Regional Division Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) along with the Police Narcotics Branch (Georgetown), Coast Guard and the Guyana Defence Force, unearthed almost a half of billion dollars in narcotics.According to reports, ranks of the Joint Services conducted operations in the Berbice River on Saturday following reports of cattle rustling by a farmer of Kimbia Village, Upper Berbice River.
As the team went in pursuit of the perpetrators, they came across three suspected cannabis farms measuring about eight acres along the Ebini Trail, Upper Berbice River, with about 37,000 suspected plants ranging from three to seven feet in height and weighing approximately 4000 pounds.
Three makeshift camps with four hundred pounds of dry cannabis, along with one tiller and several pieces of farming equipment were seen. The estimated cost of the suspected cannabis is $585,134,100.
At one of the camps, components of a suspected firearm were also found and have been lodged. All the cannabis plants and camps were destroyed by fire.
More than a week ago, a joint operation by ranks of the Guyana Police Force and the Guyana Defence Force’s Coast Guard led to the discovery of 17 acres of ganja with approximately 27,000 cannabis plants ranging from two to six feet in height.
Region Six Police Commander, Senior Superintendent Shivpersaud Bacchus said acting on information received, ranks went to DeVeldt Village, Savannah, along the Berbice River, where they destroyed the cannabis sativa plants, three makeshift camps, one trailer, and two ploughs.
The estimated value of the cannabis sativa destroyed was $340,194,300.
Meanwhile, during a similar operation at DeVeldt last month, $489 million worth of marijuana was destroyed and two shotguns were discovered. A 37-year-old farmer of Stewartville, West Coast Demerara (WCD), who was attending to the cannabis plants, was arrested. He has since been charged.