– guns, ammo, motorcycles and vehicles discovered at camps

A DRUG-ERADICATION operation, led by a senior officer in B Division, accompanied by several ranks, successfully destroyed three fields of cannabis sativa, in De Veldt, Berbice River, on Friday.

The exercise netted some 30,000 plants that weighed 20,168 kilograms, with a street value of hundreds of millions of dollars.

According to police sources, the plants were discovered some three miles into the Savanah from a landing in De Veldt and were under cultivation in three fields with different stages from as small as two inches to five feet in height.

They were cut down and subsequently burnt. In addition to the plants, there were four camps that had some plucked cannabis, mold, seed and other cultivation materials that were also destroyed by the ranks.

A search of the surrounding areas led to the discovery of two tractors, two motorcycles, 1 ATV and a Toyota Tacoma.  A further search of the Tacoma unearthed a .32 revolver and a Magnum Rifle, along with three 12-gauge shotgun cartridges and one live 9mm round.

The Berbice River area is known for being under cultivation of the illegal plant. Numerous raids have been conducted, over the years, that destroyed billions of dollars worth in plants but this has not deterred the ‘Ganja Farmers’ from continuing to find new areas and methods to continue the cultivation. Use of drones and other modern surveillance techniques by the Guyana Police Force has brought them tremendous success in recent times.

However, given the remote locations of the fields, they are usually unmanned at most times, so, while the police destroy the fields they seldom get to make arrests as no one is usually around.