CANU boosting capacity to weed out drug traffickers
CANU Head, James Singh
CANU Head, James Singh

-aims to have drug-free communities

AS the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) continues to focus on boosting its capacity to tackle drug trafficking across the country and at the borders, its head, James Singh, says eradicating drug use in communities is high on the agenda.

Singh during a telephone interview with the Guyana Chronicle on Saturday, pointed out that drug trafficking is not only dangerous for the offender but also users, the community and the country as a whole.

He noted that it is with this in mind that the operations at CANU have been boosted in recent months as part of efforts to apprehend and bring to justice drug traffickers and smugglers.

Singh disclosed that on Friday, three persons were charged in connection with an operation conducted by CANU officers on January 19, 2022, on the Panamanian registered Motor Vessel “Diego”, at Guyana National Industrial Company (GNIC). That operation resulted in the discovery of 14 taped parcels of cannabis weighing 6.046 kilograms or 36 pounds and the arrest of 18 crew members and one GNIC security officer.

“Our operations as recent as last week whereby we intercepted a vessel with marijuana going to a Caribbean territory is to ensure that narcotics do not leave Guyana, whether it’s on a plane or a boat and ends up elsewhere irrespective of the quantity,” Singh said.

CANU ranks during a drug eradication exercise in September, 2021

CANU in a press release following the discovery had said that investigations led to the arrest of 29-year-old Epiphany Mc Lennon, a vendor of Lot 58 Patterson Street, ‘B’ Field Sophia, and 56-year-old Fredy Diaz Cabrera, a Dominican engineer of Lot 151, 3rd Street, Montrose, East Coast Demerara (ECD). Under caution, Mc Lennon and Cabrera allegedly made oral statements accepting ownership of the narcotics and named 45-year-old Eustace Rodrigues, a painter of Albouystown, Georgetown, as their accomplice.

The trio appeared in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court on Friday where Cabrera pleaded guilty and was sentenced to four years, six months in jail together with a fine of $14,441,400 by Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus. His co-accused were remanded to prison after pleading not guilty and will make their second court appearance on February 25.

CONTINUED EFFORTS
Singh told this publication that the unit is working to minimise the occurrence of drug trafficking across Guyana.

He noted that collaboration between the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and other law enforcement agencies has played a pivotal role in the seizure of a large portion of narcotics and other illegal substances.

“CANU’s operations around the country in the various communities are meant to ensure or create safe spaces within these communities so that there is no drug use or there is no selling of narcotics in these areas. We want to make sure that the communities are drug-free, that’s by bringing joint operations either with police or on our own, targeting persons who are selling marijuana or crack cocaine or any kind of narcotics in these areas,” Singh said.

As of September 6, 2021, the police seized about 1, 530 pounds or 693.2 kilogrammes of illegal drugs, which include cocaine, cannabis, and ecstasy.

Fredy Diaz Cabrera

The drugs were seized between January 1 – September 6, 2021 during intelligence-led operations.

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

The report also disclosed that there was a slight increase in the amount of cocaine seized this year, According to the statistics, 1, 181 pounds were seized compared to the 1, 180 pounds in 2020.

Approximately 2, 316 pounds or 1, 050 kilograms 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 as 52.1 grammes were seized in 2021, while 54 grammes were seized in 2020.

In September 2021, 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.

Epiphany Mc Lennon

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

The Home Affairs Minister had further 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 had noted.

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