–in cocaine-in-rice bust aboard vessel bound for Belgium

A BROKER whose responsibility it was oversee the shipment of a quantity of rice to Belgium, has been detained following the discovery of in excess of 67 kilogrammes of what is suspected to be cocaine randomly concealed among the grains.

The suspected narcotics were uncovered by Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) and CCP (Container Control Programme) operatives, from within the sealed bags of rice each weighing 45kg that was being exported to SF Trading BV, Nederland, by Golden Grains Investments Limited of Barr Street, Kitty.

The Guyana Chronicle has learnt that the shipment, which was examined and sealed at Perseverance, Mahaicony, East Coast Demerara, was destined to leave for Belgium aboard a ship from the John Fernandes wharf at approximately midnight on Friday.
But, following reports that there may have been a breach of the shipment before it arrived at the wharf for loading, the search was activated.
The exercise entailed the unloading and searching of the bags of white rice from five-20 foot containers.
It began on Friday, but it was not until the search resumed on Saturday that ‘11 bricks’ were found distributed within nine bags.