…14.8kg cocaine, 662kg ganja seized so far for 2023
Fifty-two-year-old Suresh Persaud of Belmont Squatting Area, Mahaica, East Coast Demerara (ECD), was on Thursday arrested following the discovery of a quantity of cocaine in his possession.
Based on the information received, agents of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) conducted an operation in the area during which a search was conducted on Persaud’s premises.
The cocaine that was found during the operation at Belmont Squatting Area, Mahaica
During the operation, several parcels of a whitish substance suspected to be cocaine were found in his possession.
He was taken to CANU Headquarters where the narcotic tested positive for cocaine and upon weighing, amounted to 1.216 kg (about 2.7 lbs) with a street value of about $1.3 million. He remains in custody pending charges.
Meanwhile, the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit through the period of January to June 2023 seized approximately 677.40 kgs of narcotics, consisting of 662.40 kgs of cannabis, 14.80 kgs of cocaine, 10 grams of hashish, and 90 grams of ecstasy.
The Unit also made seizures of four firearms and a total of 1087 ammunition seizures encompassing a diverse range of types. For the said period, the Unit handled a total of 30 cases and secured 27 convictions.
CANU has also placed great emphasis on the areas of demand reduction, and institutional strengthening collaborating with various agencies in this sector, conducting school drug prevention sensitisations throughout the country as well as working on other projects that will facilitate the development of treatment and reintegration of recovering substance users.
Suresh Persaud
Great emphasis is also placed on international cooperation, liaising with International and regional organisations, which contributes greatly to enhancing the country’s ability to combat the present drug situation.
Only recently, Head of the Drug Enforcement Unit, James Singh stated that he was pleased with the performance of the Unit while praising President Ali’s multi-agency approach that is taken to fight drug traffickers consisting of the Guyana Police Force (GPF), the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), and the Guyana Defence Force (GDF).
He also referenced several other factors that were helpful, including the establishment of a maritime section, the establishment of a joint container scanning section, a metal inspection section, the presence of CANU at key locations across the country, and more importantly, improved relationship with the public and private sector.
He added that while Guyana is deemed a transhipment point for cocaine and other drugs, this is gradually being addressed with some optimism of breaking that stereotype.
“We want to send a strong message that the Government is serious about fighting narcotics within Guyana and also Guyana will not be used as a transhipment point for narcotics to other territories.”
He nevertheless reiterated that the Government, through the Home Affairs Ministry, has been providing the necessary resources to tackle and put a dent in the drug trade. “The performance of CANU is an example of the GoG desire to fight the drug trade in trade,” he added.
Back in January, 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.
In 2022, a total of 3.7 tonnes of marijuana and over 124kg of cocaine were seized from various ports of entry and through operations within the country.
