THE Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) on Saturday destroyed approximately 454.7 kilogrammes of marijuana (or more than 1,000 pounds) and 140.6 kilogrammes of cocaine (or about 300 pounds) which were seized during various operations.

The destruction took place at the former Ministry of Housing tarmac, on Homestretch Avenue, Georgetown, after the associated matters in which arrests were effected, were concluded at the Magistrates’ Court.

Present at the destruction exercise was Minister of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn; CANU Head, James Singh and Chief Fire Officer (ag), Gregory Wickham.

Minister Benn stated that President, Dr Irfaan Ali has committed to bringing more resources and support to the fight against drug trafficking.

“In terms of the fight against drug trafficking, drug use in the community, our work is onerous, our work is risky. That is work which has to be done by the countries like ourselves who are trans-shipment countries for drugs to other places who are the consumers,” the Home Affairs Minister said.

He noted that Guyana has the difficult task of interdicting and preventing the movement of drugs.

“We need more help in respect of this fight. We need help in terms of the assets, the resources, to help prevent the flow of drugs through Guyana,” Minister Benn stated.

Meanwhile, the Head of CANU, Singh, noted that the drugs which were destroyed on Saturday were not all the drugs that the agency had seized.

“Unfortunately, we cannot destroy all the drugs that we have found so far because they have to be presented as evidence in court,” Singh explained.

For the year 2022, CANU seized more than 3.7 tons of marijuana and 120 plus kilogrammes of cocaine.

According to Singh, CANU remains committed to fighting the scourge of narcotics within Guyana in an effort to have a safer country for all and to ensure that Guyana isn’t labelled a “narco-state.”

Singh related that there were issues with narcotics being fed into schools last year and as a result, CANU started a programme with the Ministry of Education to sensitise both teachers and students in various schools across the country about different types of drugs, how they are peddled and how they are concealed.

“I’m happy to say that we have a programme that is continuing to this year, where CANU has visited several schools.

“We’ve actually done a PowerPoint presentation for the teachers, sensitising them on both narcotics and also one for the students.”

Singh said that the aim is to cover all the schools in the various communities through a collaborative effort with the Ministry of Education.

Additionally, the CANU Head revealed that there are several joint investigations ongoing as it relates to known suspects who are wanted in other territories for questioning linked to narcotics.

He explained that often, persons who are of interest in narcotics cases outside of Guyana are extradited. Singh said CANU would like to bring those persons before the courts in Guyana, and after serving their prison sentences, then they can be extradited to other countries.

“The aim is to produce persons before the court…we want to send a strong message that the government is serious about fighting narcotics, within Guyana and also [that] Guyana will not be used as a trans-shipment point for narcotics to other territories,” he noted.

Singh added that CANU wants a better relationship with the communities because a lot of the agency’s successes are as a result of the public’s help.