— `postgirl’ fingered in trafficking of LSD in school

IT is a small paper strip which is coated with the drug which makes the user hallucinate uncontrollably when placed on the tongue. It is sold for various prices between $500 and $5000 on the East Bank of Essequibo (EBE) and in the city.

This is the information which was uncovered recently after the police ‘busted’ an organised gang which trafficks another illegal substance, ecstasy, targeting school-aged girls of several top secondary schools.

LSD is a hallucinogenic drug which is illegal in Guyana. Its effects can be devastating to the user and when utilised, it leads to altered thoughts, feelings, and awareness of one’s surroundings. In many instances, users see or hear things that do not exist.

Reports are that LSD, which is also known as Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD) or ‘acid’, has been making rounds, in schools over the past several months. A Tuschen, EBE man, called “Alex”, who was fingered as a member of an ecstasy trading and procurement gang which was ‘busted’ last weekend at Parika, is seen as the prime mastermind in the LSD trade, especially at schools in the area.

UNREGISTERED PHARMACY

This newspaper was told by a source familiar with the operations of the post office at Tuschen, that Alex, who operates an unregistered pharmacy at Tuschen, would visit the office at specific times to uplift mails and various parcels.
The young man is reportedly well-connected, and as such, he would call a particular ‘postgirl’ at the agency and coordinate when to uplift his ‘mail’. The mails originate from foreign addresses, including Holland and Sweden.

An official of the Guyana Post Office Corporation (GPOC) contacted this publication on Thursday, one day after a news story was published on the ecstasy gang. In that report, the presence of LSD here and the use of the post office for its trade and shipment were mentioned. Reports are that the GPOC is expected to launch its own investigation into the matter.

This newspaper was told that mails arriving in Guyana from overseas are first sorted at the GPOC’s main branch in the city. Those which are addressed to outlying areas outside of Georgetown are then taken to the post offices in those areas and the addressees would uplift their mails.

TUSCHEN POST OFFICE OPERATION
“Alex tells the ‘postgirl’ not to deliver the mails to his home or else someone would find out what the mails contain,” a post office source reported.

Reports are that since last April, Alex’s movements were noticed by staff. Suspicions grew after it was discovered that the addresses on the young man’s mails were fictitious, since the lot numbers listed on the mails and that of his home are different. In addition, the mails would bear the name “Alex Anthony” as the receiver, another fictitious piece of information, since it was noted that ‘Anthony’ is not the man’s family name.

This newspaper was informed last week by relatives of the late Vanica Shultz, the Mae’s Secondary School student who committed suicide after overdosing herself with ecstasy in January, shared a relationship with Alex. Schultz reportedly met the man after using the services of an Internet café which is operated by the man’s parents, next door to the pharmacy which he operates.

Schultz confided in another relative and disclosed that after the two became acquainted, he started giving her valium to drink and told her it would make her feel ‘good.’ In addition to selling ecstasy pills for the young man, Schultz was forced to sell LSD,her parents told this newspaper last week. They said the man bought a phone for the young lady, unknown to them or her grandmother who was her guardian at the time, and told her she had to ‘work’ to repay him for the phone.

She further disclosed to the relative that Alex would ensure that the LSD is neatly cut into small pieces before it is sold to students at schools on the EBE and the West Bank Demerara by Alex himself.

The relative provided this information to the police in ‘D’ Division in a statement soon after Schultz died. Alex was detained and released on $20,000 bail in connection with her death. It is unclear whether the police acted on the information provided by the young woman’s relative.

CORROBORATION OF THE GANG’S ACTIVITIES
Police uncovered the gang’s operations last weekend after a missing 14-year-old Stewartville Secondary School girl was found dazed and drugged at a ‘hideout’ hotel at Parika.

Following the police operation, in which the girl’s parents played an active role, Alex’s ties to the gang was uncovered via SMS and other chats which were found on a phone of a gang member. The missing girl’s parents were contacted by Schultz’s parents, since the latter were more than familiar with Alex.

Last week, this newspaper spoke to the 14-year-old girl in the presence of her parents and she detailed the operations of the gang, which is headed by a young man called “Scooby Dew”. “Scooby Dew” is in police custody after he was fingered in the girl’s disappearance.
The teen said she knew Alex, and the information about his activities corroborated what Schultz’s parents told this publication earlier.

The 14-year-old said that while she did not know much about Schultz, she knew she was a member of the gang, and she recalled that the gang held a meeting on the afternoon of Schultz’s death in January this year, and words of comfort were shared by gang members.
As regards LSD, the teen said the drug came to Alex in postcards. She recalled seeing a ‘puzzle’ which Alex would tear into small pieces and provide it to several members of the gang, including several schoolgirls, for resale. He managed the LSD sales by gang members, while “Scooby Dew” managed the sale and sourcing of ecstasy.

SCHOOLS INVOLVED
The young woman said in addition to Mae’s Secondary and Stewartville Secondary, several other schools, including School of the Nations, Queen’s College, and the Comprehensive School at Tuschen, EBE, are among those where the gang sells the illegal drugs.
A female teacher at the Stewartville Secondary, who reportedly visited the 14-year-old girl last weekend although she was missing from home, is also said to be an active participant in the group’s activities. She is said to be in a relationship with another gang member called “Pandit”, also of the EBE. An Alberttown man, called “Rasta” supplies the gang with ecstasy.

AWAITING WORD FROM THE POLICE

Meanwhile, relatives of the 14-year-old girl are awaiting word from the police regarding “Scooby Dew”, who was arrested during a dramatic chain of events last Sunday afternoon at Parika. A medical report indicated that the 14-year-old was sexually molested and the suspect was being questioned in connection with the assault as well as her disappearance.

The teen’s mother told this newspaper on Saturday that she called the police station at Leonora for an update on the situation, but she noted that the police rank who answered seemed dismissive and unhelpful when she enquired about her daughter’s case. She said the rank informed her that he knew nothing about the case.

She later spoke to a senior police official in the division and he notified her that the police wished to question her daughter some more in connection with the case.
This, she noted, may be the case since it has caused a public outcry. She expressed hope that the police would thoroughly investigate the case, noting that many young women are at risk as a result of the gang’s activities.
‘D’ Division commander, Senior Superintendent Edmond Cooper, told the Guyana Chronicle last week that the matter is being investigated.

EFFECTS OF LSD
According to scientific research, the health risks related to frequent LSD use are more mental than physical, since the drug can have long-lasting effects on a person’s brain and emotional state.

The effects include bouts of depression, flashbacks, psychosis and paranoia, and these continue for years after LSD use.

Physical effects of the drug use include increased blood pressure and heart rate, increased body temperature or sweating, dizziness, sleeplessness, numbness or tremors, dilated pupils, loss of appetite, nausea or dry mouth and decreased coordination and weakness.