-Guyana tackling narcotics shipments through INTERPOL, U.S. Marshals Service partnerships, Minister Walrond says
GUYANA is strengthening co-operation with international law-enforcement partners as authorities intensify efforts to disrupt transnational criminal organisations using the country as a route for moving narcotics to destinations in Africa and Europe.
Minister of Home Affairs Oneidge Walrond, said that the country’s approach to combatting the drug trade can no longer rely on the efforts of a single agency, as criminal networks increasingly operate across jurisdictions.
In a recent interview, she highlighted ongoing collaborations with INTERPOL, the U.S. Marshals Service, and other international partners, noting that co-operation and intelligence-sharing have become important tools in preventing Guyana from being used as a safe haven or transhipment point by organised criminal groups.
Waldron said Guyana’s fight against drugs has taken on an increasingly transnational nature, with law enforcement now working to develop and maintain greater coordination between local agencies and international partners.
“The drug trade in Guyana has become, and the approach to it has become more transnational. Our fight against drugs is not a one-agency approach anymore. It has to be interagency,” she said. The minister acknowledged the work of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) and the Guyana Police Force’s narcotics unit in intercepting narcotics, but said the wider challenge extends beyond seizures made within Guyana.
A key concern for authorities, according to Walrond, is Guyana being used as a transhipment point for narcotics being transported to other international markets. She shared that criminal organisations are moving drugs through Guyana as part of wider routes leading to Africa and Europe, highlighting the country’s geographical position as a factor in combatting the challenge.
“Our biggest issue right now is the fact that Guyana is a transhipment point. The drugs are moving through Guyana to get to Africa and Europe,” she said. Currently, policies, programmes and operations are focused on disrupting these routes and preventing transnational criminal organisations from using Guyana as a base for illegal activities.
The co-operation with INTERPOL and the U.S. Marshals Service forms part of this wider effort to strengthen Guyana’s capacity to respond to organised and transnational crime.
Walrond said relationships with these agencies have been strengthened and expanded, as Guyana seeks to improve its ability to confront criminal networks operating across jurisdictions.
“…co-operation with the INTERPOL, the U.S. Marshal Service, we have cemented and built on those relationships. We are doing more in terms of combatting drug through these transnational organizations and organised crime,” she said.
The emphasis on international co-operation comes as law-enforcement agencies increasingly rely on information and intelligence from counterparts outside their own jurisdictions when investigating crimes that cross national borders.
Moreover, the minister stressed that the fight against narcotics and organised crime is dependent on co-operation among a wide range of agencies, both locally and internationally.
She noted that the progress being made should be viewed as the result of a collective effort rather than the work of any single institution. “I am heartened at the kind of work we have been doing, but I have to underscore that it is work that is done in partnership with so many agencies, national and international,” Walrond said.
Her comments come as international law-enforcement co-operation continues to place greater emphasis on information-sharing, joint investigations and coordinated action against criminal networks whose activities span multiple jurisdictions.
In Guyana, the effort is focused on preventing the country from becoming a base for international drug-trafficking routes, while strengthening the partnerships needed to identify, disrupt and dismantle criminal networks.
