‘B’ Division, under the stewardship of Senior Superintendent of Police Calvin Brutus, has been taking the fight to the drug traffickers, by getting to their sources and destroying them through multiple exercises.

Unlike last year, when the police did not manage to make a dent in the operations of the traffickers, due to the difficulty of accessing the marijuana farms along the Berbice River and Canje Creek, this year saw them stepping up their game, and running several sting operations, making full use of the drones and other aspects of modern technology now at their disposal.

Their efforts for this year so far has seen over 30 fields, the equivalent of close to 80 acres of cannabis sativa, popularly called marijuana, with a street value of over G$300M, being burnt to the ground by ranks within ‘D’ Division.
Several firearms and rounds of ammunition, as well as boats, engines and other key equipment to the trade were also seized during the operations, while several persons were charged and placed before the courts.

Speaking with the Guyana Chronicle recently, Commander Brutus related that while they have arrested 17 persons and placed them before the courts, many times residents in the riverine communities are shielding the traffickers, for fear of retribution should it be found out that they ratted them out to the police.
He is, however, urging persons to come directly to him, and is giving his assurance that the information they volunteer will be kept strictly confidential.

‘ZERO-TOLERANCE POLICY’
“We have a zero-tolerance policy on drugs and illegal activities that put the lives of others at risk, and we need the help from the community in identifying these individuals, so we can make our society a better place,” Commander Brutus said.

Apart from the numerous fields of marijuana that have been destroyed, the police have been nabbing traffickers constantly at the impromptu roadblocks set up at the Berbice Bridge, and seized two motorcars found to be involved in the trafficking of the illicit substance, and placed the traffickers themselves before the courts.

Among those that have been arrested for the year so far are several females and males, and a Police Corporal who is currently under close arrest. Several former policemen and their spouses have also been hauled before the courts for ‘ganja’ trafficking.

“If you have someone in the Division, especially in a supervisory capacity, that is involved in the drug trade, it compromises your efforts in the Division, and paints a negative picture of the entire Force,” Commander Brutus added.

He noted that despite the success they have had for the year thus far, they will not be letting up on their efforts, and will continue to take the fight to the traffickers.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, May 28, the Police, acting on information they’d received, swooped down on a farmer at DeVeldt, on the Berbice River in search of arms and ammunition; and while the suspect was not at home, a sibling who was led the ranks to an unlicenced pistol.

The said day, a few villages away at Bartica Village, also on the Berbice River, the Police conducted a search at a house where 20 kilograms of what looked like ‘cannabis’ packaged in 23 parcels, as well as 20lbs of the dried variety of the substance, with an estimated street value of $1.6M, along with an unlicenced shotgun and documents purporting to belong to the occupant were discovered. The Police are currently seeking the whereabouts of the owner of the house at Bartica Village.