MINISTER of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan has said that the “reckless” and “negligent” elements of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) are to be blamed for the disappearance of cocaine from the Criminal Investigations Unit (CID).

On Wednesday, it was reported that close to two kilograms of cocaine was missing from the CID Headquarters, Eve Leary, Georgetown.

According to reports, the cocaine was tendered as evidence against 31-year-old Travis Mendonca who was sentenced to three years in prison after he pleaded guilty to a trafficking in narcotics charge.

Though Minister Ramjattan did not identify any officer, he said he has his suspicions but will not make it public.

He, however, told members of the media, the matter is under investigation and a number of officers have been questioned but no arrests have been made so far.
“There are systems in place that are being violated often,” said the minister, who pointed out that a solution to the problem is now in place at the CID headquarters.

The Canadian Justice Education Society (JES) after noticing the challenges facing the Police Force, decided to build a property room which will be used to store case-evidence.

According to the minister, the room is equipped with cameras that will monitor who access the evidence.

Some of the authorities, who were present, pointed out that they started using the storage facility and they have recorded success so far.

JES has been working closely with the GPF for over two years. The Canadian society has reportedly trained over 250 officers in the area of interviewing, forensic analysis and so forth.

Minister Ramjattan said that given the challenges facing the Force, there is need for continued support from the JES and other organisations, especially in the area of training and development.

Canadian High Commissioner to Guyana, Lilian Chatterjee said the transformed shipping container to a storage facility will enhance the Force’s ability to monitor evidence.

Chatterjee believes that the storage room will help to strengthen evidence-based investigations and contribute to a higher level of efficacy and trust in the criminal justice system.