-in the interest of national security
HOME AFFAIRS Minister Mr. Clement Rohee is calling for greater collaboration among law enforcement agencies in the war on the trade in illicit drugs and other customs-related offences, an appeal a senior official made only recently in relation to the functioning of her agency. Head of the Government Analyst, Food and Drugs Department, Ms. Marilyn Collins told the Guyana Chronicle just last week that effecting the enforcement aspect of her Department’s function was almost like pulling teeth due to understaffing and under-resourcing among other problems plaguing the agency, and that the only plausible way she sees out of this dilemma is to  forge a closer working relationship with the Customs and Trade Administration (CTA).
Speaking at the opening on Wednesday of a two-day training course, the second to date, for Customs Officers in the area of the identification and control of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, Minister Rohee said that while collaboration among law enforcement agencies would be a welcome development for the sake of the overall security of the country, there was still the human aspect, “the weakest link,” as he termed it, to be dealt with, since, unlike sniffer dogs and machines, mankind is unfortunately susceptible to bribery.
The course, a collaborative effort of the Government Analyst Food and Drugs Department, the  Ministry of Home Affairs and the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), was held at the Main Street headquarters of the Customs and Trade Administration (CTA) here in the city.
Minister Rohee said that given that customs officers are tasked with revenue collection, and the control, interception and monitoring of the movement of illicit drugs among other related activities, there is no denying the importance of training programmes such as the one at hand, hence the need to commend the GRA for undertaking such an important initiative in the area of capacity building.
The course at reference, he said, was so designed as to suit the needs of those entrusted with enforcing the law, and as such will not only help in building their capacity to cope with the task at hand, but also in the strengthening of the institutions for which it was intended, all in the interest of preserving the nation’s security.
Noting that among the objectives of Wednesday’s exercise was helping personnel in the various law enforcement agencies become more alert and knowledgeable in their respective fields, and to get a sense of what is happening around them, Minister Rohee said it was for those very reasons that the government introduced integrity testing in sections of the law enforcement agencies, whereby polygraph testing is applied so as to lend a greater sense of credibility not only to the country but also  individuals in certain key positions.
He also spoke of the installation of security cameras around the city, whereby the Ministry of Home Affairs has sought to intensify the use of these devices so as to capture images that may be helpful in interdiction and conviction, for which the law has made provision.
The use of sniffer dogs and other security impedimenta, he said, have also been introduced at such ports of entry as the Ogle airport and the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CIJA) at Timehri to combat the challenges of narcotics trade among other illegal activities.
As he explained, recent drug interdictions have shown that people are now breaking with tradition and finding newer and more innovative ways of concealing drugs to take them out of the country, including using such innocuous items as women’s wigs, or bodily orifices as the vagina and elsewhere.
According to GRA Commissioner-General, Mr. Khurshid Sattaur, 34 employees of his agency are participating in the workshop, which is more advanced than its precursor in that it touches on several topics pertaining to the drug trade.
He said that because the GRA is fully cognizant of its responsibilities in the illicit trafficking of drugs and other associated crimes, it thought it prudent to equip its Customs Officers with the relevant training in order that they can play a more proactive role befitting a lead agency in the ongoing war on drugs.
Sattaur said that because of the specific nature of staff’s responsibilities, the GRA has trained them to be efficient in carrying out their duties, to portray a sense of commitment, and to adhere to Standard Operating Procedures (SOP).
The two-day course, ended yesterday, touched on, among other topics, drug trafficking and methods of concealment; international conventions and national laws governing narcotic drugs and precursor chemicals; the role of the competent authorities; use of precursor chemicals in the manufacture of illicit drugs, identification and safe handling of precursor chemicals; and intelligence gathering.