Ramjattan accuses educators of selling illegal substances in schools

– law enforcement officials monitoring suspects

Persons within the school system are suspected to be culprits in the emerging issue of students using illegal drugs. This is according to Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan, who said all efforts are being made to put an end to this scourge.
He recently noted that law enforcement officials have been successful in capturing some persons who were involved with the introduction and/or sale of ecstasy and other illegal substances in certain schools but there still may be some who are employed in the school environments.
“I would not want to give you all the activities that we have done but we believe that people inside of the school system might now be indulging and that is why we will still have [illegal substances in schools]. And all we can do in relation to that is, of course, when we caught them we will prosecute and so on. But we are asking those persons not to do those things, it is harming our society, it is harming our children, and we have to have some self-restraint in what you indulge in.”
According to the Minister, persons who are trying to earn monies by threatening the wellbeing and health of children need to desist from doing so, especially in instances where they are acting outside of the law.
“That’s a crime to begin with to be in possession of ecstasy and whatever else these new forms of drugs and plastic drugs, and whatever the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) people call them. But it is endangering our next generation. And we don’t want them and these are bright kids and just for a couple dollars these officials might very well be doing it.”
Minister Ramjattan also pointed out that it is a very difficult task in identifying every individual who may be indulging in the use of illegal substances in the school system but reiterated that law enforcement officials are monitoring those suspected.
“We have done certain activities that have seen them or others who we have suspected moving away from those schools…and so we have to talk to some of these school officials too because we believe that the culprits are within those schools. It is very difficult to identify them but we have some suspects…so we will be carrying on that activity and hopefully, more and more information is going to come from the other students too.”
In February of this year, a 20-year-old private school student was sentenced to three years in prison after he was found to have ecstasy in his possession.
CANU had also recently disclosed that it discovered a drug ring in several city schools.