-Says CANU officers must have high level of professionalism, ethics

GUYANA has been improving in the fight against the drug trade and although there is an allure to power and money behind the narco trade, law enforcement officers must be ethical and professional in their duties in order for continued results.
This is according to Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan, during his address at the opening ceremony of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) training exercise 2019, held on Monday at the Georgetown Club, Camp Street.

The event saw the participation of over 120 CANU ranks under the theme “stemming the flow of Narcotics through capacity building and Inter Agency collaborations.”
Minister Ramjattan told the gathering that unless they can capture the global context of the drug trade, only then the training will have merit.
He said agents must look at all activities surrounding narco trafficking as something disastrous for the world.

Ramjattan said building capacity to counter the trade and its negative effects is essential and such can be done with the right training in leadership, professionalism, interviewing techniques, immigration examination, forensic awareness, customs examination amongst others.

The Minister challenged the participants to absorb all that will be taught in order to remove the drug scourge from society.
“I want to tell you it corrupts governments, it corrupts the commercial sector of a society, it corrupts the law enforcement, the people behind it also do not care as to the consequences of what happens to young children and even adults that become addicted, all they care for is the profits,” Ramjattan said.

He said that the drug trade also distorts the economy and in Guyana there are statistics to prove such because the economy appears to look better with illegal gains.
“It disincentivizes investors, it creates lots of violence in society because drugs have the capacity to get the real bad guys in society doing the dirty jobs of the big dealers and Mafioso bosses; it also has a cultural negative about it, the young people see them as heroes of society because the drive around with these big BMWs and fancy cars with lots of girls, young people are influenced by this and want to live the same lifestyle,” the Public Security Minister said.

He said the principles of a society, where wealth is accumulated because of working, is discarded and youths are focused on the big pay and drug runs.
Ramjattan said all his research indicates that the drug trade is not easily contained as seen in the U.S.A Where presidents continue the war on drugs.
He explained that the drug empire is run like a business corporation with a CEO controlling many different units. “This spawns a variety of other criminalities, such as trafficking in persons.”

Underscoring that serving as a human courier for drugs now is attractive, Ramjattan said traffickers know that a proportion of traffickers is caught. Such risk is then accepted as a cost of doing business.

“For single women with children, the frequent mule profile, a prospect of US$5,000 for one drug run to the U.S.A offers a promise that no local opportunity can match. Those that are involved are hard to identify because they hide in plain sight,” the Public Security Minister said.

Minister Ramjattan said Guyana has been improving although there is an allure of power and money behind the drug trade.

“This is now a cultural value where people tell themselves, ‘alright I might one day get catch, so I might as well enjoy this life’ and this has change society’s pattern, some people see it as better to enjoy whatever couple days they have rather than work the elongated way of going through their years and aging well and doing all the things that are legitimate, but no, many want the quick money that comes with drugs,” he said.
He explained that government has done well in providing resources, structures and vehicles in order to ensure the law enforcement operate to its fullest capacity.
Adding that all stakeholders are working more closely with their US counterparts, Ramjattan said the US has a strong cooperation with Guyana in addressing the mutual threats of the drug trade.

He noted that CANU officers have done lots of overseas training that have enhanced Guyana’s capacity.

“Over 28 of our CANU officers have gone overseas for training in various areas,” he said. “In 2015 we had 610 kilo of cocaine seized; in 2016 there was 66 kilos; 2017 it was 290 kilos; 2018 it was 161 kilos; and in 2019 it’s 115 thus far.”
He said that persons who are supplying heroine, ecstasy, crystal methamphetamine are also being investigated.

“We have borders that are long and you will find drug traffickers utilizing those borders. It is important then, that, knowing the challenges and difficulties, you undergo the training and apply same in your work by ensuring that you behave ethically………………….You have to know that people are going to come and temp you to do things because the money is big, but, if you love your country and you love yourself and you love your family, you certainly will have to ensure that you are not tempted just for a quick buck,” Ramjattan said.
He said Guyana suffers as a result of corruption facilitated by the drug trade and law enforcement officers must be professional.

Ramjattan advised the CANU ranks to read a book titled ‘Illicit: How Smugglers, Traffickers and Copycats are hijacking the global economy’ by Moisés Naím.