HEAD of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU), James Singh, confirmed to the Chronicle on Friday that CANU, and by extension Guyana, has been formally informed by authorities in Canada about the development in that country that links local Disc Jockey Dwidth Ferguson to cocaine and arms smuggling.Singh was, however, quick to point out that there is nothing else he could disclose about the matter, since local and foreign investigations are ongoing and he wishes not to say anything that can compromise the international investigation.

At the moment, 32-year-old Dwidth Ferguson is said to be a fugitive in Canada, where he arrived several days before the law- enforcement agencies in that country shattered the guns and cocaine- trafficking ring that he has allegedly been a part of.

According to the Canadian enforcement agency, Ferguson, like all other players who were arrested, is a key player in the cocaine and gun-running ring that has been smuggling the items into Canada.

Word broke locally on Thursday that the Canadian press was widely reporting the dismantling of the illegal ring in that country, and that Ferguson is the only person who has not yet been captured by the law- enforcement officers.

A senior police officer in that country has stated that the operation and investigation, which has been ongoing since 2014 to bring the ring down, was actually a collaborative effort of lawmen and women from several countries, and numbered in excess of 100 ranks.

It has long been rumoured that the owners of Hits and Jams Entertainment are associated with the drug underworld, but there has never been any really hard evidence to support that claim. Several years ago, the very Dwidth Ferguson, along with two others, was arrested and held in police custody here in Guyana for a quantity of cocaine which the police were able to intercept. In that matter, the two other persons were charged while Ferguson was able to walk free without any charges.

According to media reports out of Canada, 12 persons have been arrested in a bust that uncovered a drugs and gun-smuggling ring, and police are looking for a 13th person. That person was listed as Guyanese Entertainer Dwidth Ferguson.

“We’ll get him,” Barnum has said. “It will just take a little bit of time.” the Canadian senior police officer stated while addressing media operatives in that country.

Twelve people arrested across the Greater Toronto Area face a total of 46 charges in connection with a year-long investigation that saw cocaine, prescription pills and handguns smuggled into Ontario from the United States and the Caribbean, the news report stated.

A number of warranted searches were conducted earlier this week in and around the GTA, leading to the seizure of 22 firearms, $146,000 in cash and four cars; and when combined with the hauls from three other related investigations, a total of 123 kilograms of cocaine. The wholesale value of the drugs seized is estimated to be US$12.2M.

According to the senior Canadian law enforcement officer, “This industry of dealing drugs and firearms is really based on greed. Sometimes these folks are so greedy and think they’re so good at their game, but we’ll be there when they’re not.”

The investigation, dubbed ‘Project Monto’, involved the OPP, RCMP, York Regional Police, Peel Regional Police, Toronto Police, Royal Newfoundland Constabulary, and various law- enforcement agencies from the United States.

“A 13th suspect, 32-year-old Dwidth Ferguson of Georgetown, Guyana, is still outstanding, and [is] wanted for importation and trafficking charges,” it concluded. (Leroy Smith)