Senior policeman, ex-cop among 4 hit with US sanctions for drug trafficking

In a move to clamp down on narcotics going into the United States, Senior Superintendent of Police Himnauth Sawh, who previously served as Commander of Region One (Barima-Waini), was named among four Guyanese nationals who have been sanctioned by the US for drug trafficking.
The US Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) updated its Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) List on Thursday to include the four Guyanese who are reportedly linked to trafficking tonnes of cocaine from South America to the United States, Europe, and the Caribbean.
Sawh, 37, of Cane Grove, East Coast Demerara (ECD), is still a serving member of the Guyana Police Force (GPF).

Also sanctioned are 39-year-old Paul Daby Jr, called Paul Daby Ramsuchit, Randell, and Rondell, of Lot 127 D’Aguiar Park, Georgetown; Randolph Duncan, called Rudolph Duncan, 55, of Georgetown, and 43-year-old Mark Cromwell, called “Demon” and “Diamond,” a former Police Officer of both Lot 40 Vigilance, ECD and Lot 10 Buxton, ECD.
Two Colombians, Yeison Andres Sanchez Vallejo and Manuel Salazar Gutierrez, were also among those added to the OFAC SDN List on Thursday. These sanctions were imposed under an Executive Order issued back in December 2021 [ILLICIT-DRUGS-EO14059] titled: Imposing Sanctions on Foreign Persons Involved in the Global Illicit Drug Trade.

The US is using sanctions to combat the illicit production and trafficking of foreign-produced drugs, especially synthetic opioid production and trafficking (including fentanyl). Opioids are a leading contributor to drug overdose deaths in the US.
“As a result of today’s action, all property and interests in property of the designated or blocked persons described above that are in the United States or in the possession or control of US persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC,” the Treasury Department said in a statement on Thursday.
According to the Treasury Department, the OFAC carried out this investigation in coordination with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); US Customs and Border Protection (CBP); the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the US Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) before imposing the sanctions.

Drug trafficking in Guyana
The Treasury Department stated on Thursday that Guyana’s proximity to the Caribbean, as well as alleged corruption along its ports and borders, allows aircraft and maritime vessels, also known as narco-submarines, to transit through its waters undetected.
It noted that drug traffickers exploit the rivers and jungles of South America by transporting large quantities of cocaine from Colombia and Venezuela through Guyana and Suriname.
According to the US officials, Guyana has been the focus of major US law enforcement operations in the last few years that were done in partnership with Guyanese authorities and resulted in several multi-ton seizures of cocaine.
Only in March this year, a cargo vessel originating in Guyana was discovered by Police in the waters of Trinidad and Tobago with approximately 182 kilograms of cocaine. Cocaine packages stamped with the Toyota logo, a known trademark of the Sinaloa Cartel, were found on board the cargo vessel.
“Mexican drug cartels are known for having a presence in Guyana,” the Treasury Department said.
Further, the statement also mentioned US and Guyanese law enforcement’s seizure of 2370 kilograms (5000lbs) of cocaine in a self-propelled semi-submersible (SPSS) approximately 150 miles off the coast of Guyana on March 21, 2024.
Then in August last year, Guyanese authorities, with support from the DEA and DSS, unearthed some 4.4 tonnes of cocaine with a street value of some €176 million (G$40.7 billion) hidden in several bunkers near an illegal airstrip at Matthews Ridge, Region One, which shares a border with Venezuela.

The local Customs Anti-Narcotic Unit (CANU) had said that the operation was based on intelligence focusing on illegal flights into Guyana and sharing of information with the DEA and other international partners. Local law enforcement officials believed that the drugs, which were destroyed after samples were extracted, were brought to Guyana from a neighbouring country/countries and stored for further transhipment to Europe.
At the time of that drug bust on August 31, 2024, Senior Superintendent Sawh was serving as the Police Commander for Region One. He was subsequently removed from that post and assigned to the Guyana Police Force (GPF) Transport Workshop.
Following the announcement of the sanctions by the US, the senior cop was sent on administrative leave.
In a brief statement on Thursday evening, the GPF said “In keeping with the Guyana Police Force’s Standard Operating Procedure, Senior Superintendent Sawh has been sent on administrative leave following him being sanctioned for ‘drug trafficking’ by the United States.”
Sawh joined the Police Force on June 3, 2008 and his last posting was at the GPF’s Projects Office.

Guyanese operators
According to the Treasury Department, Sawh “…has ensured safe passage to Colombian and Venezuelan traffickers through Region One.”
Moreover, it was noted that Daby Jr and Duncan “…operate the largest drug trafficking organisations in Guyana and rely on maritime vessels and aircraft to conceal and traffic cocaine, while also allegedly bribing Guyanese officials to facilitate their drug trafficking operations.”
The Treasury Department said Daby Jr traffics tonnequantities of cocaine, coordinating the shipment of loads from Colombia and Venezuela via aircraft, and utilising illegal airstrips in Guyana. He also relies, the statement added, on a network of individuals to conceal and transport cocaine in shipping containers from the ports of Guyana and Suriname.
It was further outlined that Daby Jr is also involved in transporting illegal gold from Guyana via maritime vessels.
Moreover, the Treasury Department revealed that Duncan traffics cocaine from Guyana to Africa and the Caribbean, with Europe and the United States as the ultimate destinations.
With regard to Cromwell, who is also a former Police Officer, he was described by the US officials as “a violent drug trafficker and associate of Daby Jr”.
Cromwell has been implicated in a number of criminal activities over the years including an alleged abduction of a former Guyanese Police Officer back in October 2024, and he was charged for assaulting a cop the previous year.
According to the Treasury Department, the two Colombian nationals sanctioned are responsible for overseeing the clandestine airstrips used to transport tonne-quantities of cocaine via aircraft from Colombia to Guyana.
“OFAC designated Daby Jr, Duncan, Cromwell, Sawh, Sanchez, and Salazar pursuant to EO 14059 for having engaged in, or attempted to engage in, activities or transactions that have materially contributed to, or pose a significant risk of materially contributing to, the international proliferation of illicit drugs or their means of production,” Thursday’s statement detailed.
This is the second time in the past year that the OFAC has issued sanctions against Guyanese.

Mohameds
In 2024, the OFAC announced sanctions against Nazar Mohamed, his son Azruddin Mohamed, several of their associated companies, and Guyanese Government official Mae Thomas.
The sanctions were issued over their alleged roles in public corruption. According to an official OFAC statement, the sanctions stem from a large-scale tax evasion scheme related to gold exports. Between 2019 and 2023, Mohamed’s Enterprise is alleged to have omitted more than 10,000 kilograms of gold from import and export declarations – resulting in the evasion of over US$50 million in duty taxes owed to the Government of Guyana. Despite the allegations, the Mohameds have denied any wrongdoing.
In a Reuters article published on July 14, 2023, it was revealed that the family was under investigation by several US agencies, including the DEA, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Department of Homeland Security.
Citing five sources with direct knowledge of the matter, Reuters had reported that the Mohameds were suspected of smuggling both Colombian cocaine and Venezuelan gold to international markets. Further, an intelligence report referenced in the investigation suggested that they may also be involved in laundering money for drug traffickers and criminal organisations, including sanctioned Russian nationals operating in the region.