– says his statement was ‘taken out of context’ by that newspaper
IN correspondence addressed to the editor of the Guyana Times newspaper and copied to the Guyana Chronicle, Head of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU), James Singh, has refuted assertions contained in an article published in that news organ’s Monday issue to the effect that “James Singh said it was time a special court is established for the hearing of drug cases.”
Singh is contending that his statement was “taken out of context” by Guyana Times.
“When asked about the backlog of cases and speedy prosecution, and whether a drug court along with traffic court would be feasible, I indeed agreed that this would be a good idea. However, the creation of any special court to deal with any matters does not rest with the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU); such is a policy decision, and those decisions are made by the Government of Guyana,” Singh contended.
Singh said he wished to set the record straight because CANU does not make policy decisions, and his statement was not intended to appear critical of the current magisterial procedure/system.
He also refuted another assertion in the Guyana Times article, to the effect that “CANU is not asking the task force to go out and find the drugs”, declaring that his statement was that “CANU, along with the various Task Force units, (is) urging companies to ensure that their systems are in place, so that persons cannot take advantage of loopholes to traffic narcotics.”
Singh disclosed that the Task Force units are working with all stakeholders to help companies improve on their systems.