…new cultivations opening up in Lethem, North West District
THE Guyana Police Force (GPF) in its drive and fight against the cultivation, sale and use of marijuana and other illegal substances has seized marijuana worth approximately $1.3 billion Guyana dollars, a senior anti-narcotics official told the Guyana Chronicle.
The Guyana Chronicle was told that 90 per cent of the marijuana which the police intercepted is grown locally. The figure represents the discovery of acres of the cultivated illegal substance, as well as what have been found through raids and in the possession of persons.
According to the official, marijuana being cultivated here is in high demand by persons in Barbados, while Guyana in turn seems to have a craving for the ‘Pappy weed” coming out of Colombia and Venezuela. Outside of the ‘Pappy Weed’ from Colombia and Venezuela, there is the ‘Bush Weed’ which is cultivated locally, the `Jammy Weed’ which is cultivated by the Jamaicans and the ‘Sour Diesel’ which is popular in the United States and Canada. The marijuana out of the two latter countries is very expensive, the official noted. The drug carries a price tag of approximately $1.6 million per kilo, making it more expensive for a kilogramme of cocaine and generates a disinterest by Guyanese in acquiring it due to the cost.
Over the last few years, the GPF has been successfully conducting drug eradication exercises countrywide, but most of the finds have been coming from the traditional areas, known for cultivation of the herb, which is not legal in this country. Some areas in Region 10, mostly Kwakwani and Ituni are known for the cultivation of the herb in large quantities. They are followed by locations in the Berbice River.
While Guyana does not have a hot spot `per se’, according to the source, evidence has shown that places in the Essequibo, Lethem and North West District have been proving to be new cultivation areas. The Police do not necessarily believe that these new areas are indicative of new users or new players in the game, but rather, it is as a result of the law enforcement’s aggressive posture, which is pushing the dealers away from their comfort zone.
The Guyana Chronicle had reported that some $11.7B in cannabis was seized by the security agencies in 2017. Of the amount, the GPF seized 64,887 kilogrammes(kg) 674.45 grammes(g) of cannabis; the Customs Anti-Narcotic Unit (CANU)123kg 825g and the Guyana Revenue Authority-Drug Enforcement Unit (GRA-DEU) seized 18kg 982g, totalling 65,030kg 481.45g of cannabis, altogether representing $180 per gramme.
In the case of the eradication of illicit cultivations, there were nine operations in which nine fields were targeted, representing 17.5 acres of land. Some 61,330 plants were discovered weighing 75,166kg. In the case of dried cannabis, 2kg 210 grams were discovered and some 1355kg 231.45g of herbal seizures were done, representing a grand total of 1357kg 441.45g. Dried cannabis representing $397,800 was seized ($180 per gram street value), while herbal seizures represented a street value of $243, 941,661 ($180 per gram, street value); a combined total of $244,339,461.
President David Granger, since taking office in 2015, has said that his administration will bring narco-trafficking to an end. He described the trade as “the mother of all crimes” and noted that once illegal drugs enter Guyana, it would be difficult to control crime here. “We do not have the resources, the assets, and we do not have aircraft to patrol our borders. We do not have the ships to patrol our sea space. We do not have the vehicles to patrol the land space to bring these crimes to an end…,” the Head of State had said in October 2016.
