A GINA Feature
Among the array of security challenges facing Guyana, illicit drugs have gradually risen to prominence. With continuously increasing cocaine and cannabis production in some countries of the region, an increasing share of that production transits northward through Guyana.
The implications of the drug trade are multi-faceted. Through consumption, addiction, and related crime, it affects public health and societal security. Through its profit margin and sheer financial weight, it affects economics. By exacerbating and deepening corruption, it can threaten political stability as seen in Jamaica at present. Finally, through its role in the financing of crime, it affects national security in the most basic sense of the term.
At present, illicit drugs pose a clear and current danger to the security of Guyana. In response, the Government of Guyana has gradually tried to cope with the multiple threats posed by the illicit drug trade. But on its own, Guyana does not have either the institutional structure, expertise, experience or the resources of developed countries – who themselves have often been at a loss in devising effective strategies to deal with the drug trade and its consequences.
The illicit drug trade being a transnational phenomenon by nature, any successful response to it, however well-formulated and implemented, cannot be limited to national boundaries. As in other regions of the world, only an international response to an international problem can be truly effective. Yet, in spite of numerous declarations, memoranda, conferences and initiatives, regional and international cooperation in counter-narcotics in the region leaves much to be desired.
As meaningful regional cooperative mechanisms are scarce, the Government of Guyana has rightfully devised its own conceptual and organizational approach to the problem, while ensuring that related international obligations are given full consideration. Guyana has assented to the three drug- related treaties that underpin all the operational work of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
These are:
a. Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs
b. Convention on Psychotropic Substances
c. Convention against Illicit Trafficking in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances

Legislation
A number of legal instruments have recently been passed in the Parliament to provide law enforcement agencies with greater interdiction clout. These include the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Act, the Interception of Communications Act, the Telecommunications Act, the Money Transfer Agencies Bill, the Plea Bargaining Legislation, The Evidence (Amendment) Act, and The Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Bill.

Strengthening Law Enforcement Agencies

At the administrative level, Government has taken several measures to boost capacity within law enforcement agencies through the allocation of more resources to acquire highly technological equipment, heightened surveillance at the Guyana Post Office Corporation (GPOC) to prevent smuggling through the post, sniffer dogs and other intelligence measures at airports and wharves, enhancement of airport surveillance, improved coordination of the activities of the units involved in counter-narcotics activities, and the introduction of machine readable passports to neutralize the activities of criminal elements such as drug-dealers, terrorists and “back-trackers”.

Task Force on Narcotics and Illicit Weapons

In 2007, Cabinet, in pursuit of its goal to suppress the trade in illegal drugs and firearms, established a Task Force on Narcotics and Illicit Weapons at the Home Affairs Ministry to facilitate the implementation of the National Drug Strategy Master Plan. This unit comprises the Guyana Defence Force, the Guyana Police Force, the Customs Anti-Narcotic Unit, Guyana Revenue Authority and the Financial Intelligence Unit.
A Memorandum of Understanding was signed among the law enforcement agencies to facilitate better coordination and collaboration of their efforts. The Task Force also interfaces with the Resident Representatives of the United States, the United Kingdom , and Canada.

National Drug Strategy Master Plan

This initiative is arranged under four broad areas: supply control, prevention, treatment and rehabilitation, and institutional and managerial framework. A mid-term review of the plan revealed that of the 36 programmes, 17 are completed, 16 are works in progress and three are yet to begin. Implementation measures are ongoing.

National Anti-Narcotics Commission (NANCOM)

As part of the effort to fast-track the implementation of the National Drug Strategy Master Plan, a steering committee of the National Anti-Narcotics Commission was established. The Committee is chaired by The Minister of Home Affairs and comprises all other appropriate government stakeholders. This is the focal point in the counter-narcotics strategy.

Customs Anti-Narcotic Unit (CANU)

The Customs Anti-Narcotic Unit was set up specifically in an effort to assist in curbing narco-trafficking. This unit is seen as a potential National Anti-Drug Enforcement Agency, commanding the respect of other Law Enforcement Agencies in Guyana and CARICOM.
Deficiencies in terms of manpower are currently being addressed and its objectives are being reviewed in order to further improve its operations. Additionally, members of CANU were polygraphed, and those who were found unsuitable were dismissed from the agency.
Between the period January 2009 to September 2009, seizures by CANU increased significantly compared to 2008. Fifty-two kilograms (kg) of cocaine, and 23kg cannabis were seized. In relation to the institution of charges, 16 persons were charged during the same period.

Guyana Police Force’s role

Government continues to expend significant sums of money to fight the scourge at the level of both supply control and demand reduction.
In addition to successful drug busts by CANU, the Police have also made significant strides in strengthening their approaches as they relate to the drug fight. In 2009, the Police seized 137 kg and 329 grams of cocaine compared to 49 kg in 2008, as well as 182,934 kg of cannabis compared to 34,949 kg the previous year.
Moreover, the Police destroyed 124 marijuana fields with a total of 1,074,450 plants last year.

US State Department Report

The 2010 US State Department Report failed to highlight the efforts of the Government, and by extension, the local Law Enforcement Agencies in the fight against narco-trafficking in Guyana. The US Administration seems short on action and long on words.
It should be noted that Guyana has been cooperating with other countries, including the United States, to identify major drug dealers. The recent repeated efforts by the Police to extradite a certain drug dealer to the US is testimony to its commitment to address the problem of drug trafficking, in a serious manner.
Government remains firm in its commitment to institute more effective policies to enable agencies and departments under the purview of the security sector to achieve their mandates in accordance with the law.

The Home Affairs Ministry’s budgetary allocation of $8,495,047 for the year 2010 will serve to improve physical infrastructure of public facilities, provide an information enabled environment to improve the overall efficiency and effectiveness of the law enforcement agencies, strengthen operational capability through the acquisition of equipment and additional means of transport, improve personnel quality and competence through training, strengthen community policing, and improve accountability.
Guyana’s overall counter drug efforts are centered on
the National Drug Strategy Master Plan which focuses both on the elaboration of serious and effective counter-narcotics policies and equally importantly, on specifics of the implementation of these policies. It avoids the dangers of both excessively repressive and excessively liberal policies in counter-narcotics, and reflects the understanding that Guyana’s fight against drugs can be won only if it balances interdiction activities and supply control with meaningful demand reduction efforts and treatment. It also addresses the need for strengthening regional cooperation.
While many problems and challenges exist, we must be confident that the battle is not lost. Our conceptual and organizational approach to the fight against drugs provides numerous opportunities to reduce the threat posed by the illicit drug trade to Guyana.