– CANU Head
HEAD of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU), Mr. James Singh has acknowledged that the cannabis (marijuana) find at the John Fernandes Wharf, in Georgetown, is one of the biggest busts, so far.
He said, in the past but not during his tenure, large quantities of the narcotics were found at the same pier but a review of the statistics revealed that Thursday’s can be deemed “large”.
Singh yesterday also pointed out that CANU has been working closely with the other law enforcement agencies and had the cooperation of officials at the John Fernandes Wharf.
“We have been doing a lot of work collectively, in collaboration with other law enforcement agencies in reducing the amount of drugs that enter this country and we have had some success,” he reported.
Singh said, when his officers went to the scene, they apprehended two men who were in the process of removing the drug from a container laden with a variety of footwear.
He said investigations revealed that the two men held were tasked with transporting the illegal stuff to a different location and the CANU personnel arrived in the nick of time and were able to nab them.
Singh admitted that the operation was based on a ‘tip off’ from sister agencies and quick action led to the discovery of 394 kilogrammes of marijuana in the unopened container which had arrived in the country from Jamaica, aboard the m.v. Stadt Luneburg, last Sunday consigned to a local footwear giant.
He said several persons relevant to the investigations, including a local shoes exporter, have been questioned and released but, given the process of the probe, the two men in custody are scheduled to appear in court next week.
The suspects are in police detention and the marijuana is lodged with CANU.
The bust occurred about 04:00 hrs after the authorities gathered at John Fernandes Wharf and observed that the seal of the container had been tampered with and commenced the successful search that yielded the marijuana in several bags.
Meanwhile, Commissioner General of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), Mr. Khurshid Sattaur, told the Guyana Chronicle that the marijuana discovery was a collaborative effort and it would be premature to make any pronouncement at this time because investigations are still in progress.
He said that he is yet to receive a full report on the incident and, as such, is not in a position to comment.
Up to press time, the police remained mum and Crime Chief Seelall Persaud was unavailable for comment.
On June 9, police detained a Venezuelan and four Guyanese after intercepting a vessel with an estimated 204 kilogrammes of cocaine,valued US$5M, at Batavia, an island in the Cuyuni River.
As a result, five persons have been charged and remanded to prison.
Guyana is considered to be a major drugs trans-shipment point and, in recent months, Jamaican authorities intercepted two ships that originated from here with large quantities of cocaine.