A TUSCHEN, East Bank Essequibo man was arrested on Saturday after ranks of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) discovered 15 brick-like parcels of cocaine valued $113 million.

According to a CANU press release, the man who is currently in police custody has been identified as Ryan Da Silva.

CANU officers acting on information conducted narcotics operations in the Tuschen-Parika area. During one of the operations, a motor vehicle with a sole occupant was stopped and searched, resulting in the discovery.

At CANU headquarters, the substance in the parcels was tested and was confirmed to be cocaine. The cocaine, which weighed 17.4 kg (38.3lbs), has a street value of more than US$552,000 (approximately GY$113,160,000).

Saturday’s bust is one of several recorded in 2021. As at September 6, 2021, the Guyana Police Force (GPF) seized about 1, 530 pounds (693.2 kg) of illegal drugs, which include cocaine, cannabis and ecstasy.

The drugs were seized between the period of January 1 – September 6 during intelligence-led operations.

This information was contained in a report released by the GPF. It was stated that some 347.2 pounds (157.5 kg) of cannabis was confiscated up to that point while in 2020, 1, 136 pounds (515.3 kg) were seized.

The report also disclosed that the seizure of cocaine recorded a slight increase this year as 1, 181 pounds were seized compared to the 1, 180 pounds in 2020.

Approximately 2, 316 pounds (1, 050 kg) of illegal drugs were seized in 2020. When compared to illegal drugs seized for the same period in 2020, a 33.9 per cent decrease was recorded.

Ecstasy recorded the lowest number of seizures for both years: 52.1 grams were seized this year and 54 grams were seized in 2020.

In September, the GPF and CANU destroyed over 2,000 kilos of cocaine, marijuana, methamphetamine, and other illicit drugs. The GPF disclosed that the narcotics destroyed were from operations conducted by the police and CANU over the last two years.

Minister of Home Affairs Robeson Benn in a recent interview had highlighted that there has been significant success in the fight against drug trafficking in several communities across Guyana; and that significant seizures, destruction and the capture of planes and persons transporting narcotics have been recorded at Nine Miles, Potaro, Orealla, and Kwakwani.

Minister Benn indicated that CANU has information relating to several high-ranking persons of interest in drug-trafficking operations here. He noted that CANU ranks will act at the opportune time to ensure success in its operations.

The Home Affairs Minister noted that since the government took office in August 2020, it has worked strategically to verify the identification of several persons who were confirmed to be involved in narco- trafficking.

Additionally, the minister had noted that the government continues to boost its efforts to ensure that prosecutors representing the GPF and CANU can take these cases to court and have the drug traffickers convicted.

“There has been some training together with the Attorney General’s Chambers with agencies in the United States either virtually or directly face-to-face with respect to prosecutorial training for the persons who have to go to court, representing the state in respect to these and other matters and so refresher training, of course, has to continue and we have to make sure that we have integrity in the work that is done at all levels,” Minister Benn noted.

Further, Head of CANU, James Singh, recently told the media that Guyana has benefitted from significant collaboration between the GPF and other enforcement agencies, which has played a pivotal role in the seizure of a large portion of narcotics and other illegal substances.

Singh also spoke about the sharing of information among regional counterparts and neighbouring countries, which has allowed local authorities to prepare for flyovers and the landing of drug-laden aircraft in Guyana.
“A lot more open, a lot more is coming to the table and that is why we are able to identify specific areas where these aircraft are going, the patterns and the organisations behind it,” Singh had stated.