Opposition Leader, Joseph Harmon is bemoaning what he describes as a sloth and lack of prosecution of persons connected to huge drug busts abroad.
Harmon said that the government is incompetent in dealing with matters of this nature, and called on the law enforcement officials to go after the ‘big fishes’.
“That is why 10 tonnes of cocaine can go to Europe and up to now, nobody ain’t get a charge in Guyana. This is why 1.5 tonnes of cocaine can go to Germany and up to now, nobody ain’t get a charge in Guyana. And every single day, these transactions are taking place. Every now and then you get a small fish: somebody at the airport with cocaine in bamboo [and] in fish and all sorts of things.”
While he acknowledged these “small catches” as good work on the part of the Customs Anti-narcotic Unit (CANU), “it is not enough”.
“Not enough, because the big shipments – you have to go after these. And you have international help. So, it bothers me that these transactions continue to go on and we have not seen any arrests or prosecution taking place in this country,” Harmon lamented.
Back in November last year, Belgian authorities intercepted 11.5 tonnes of cocaine, valued at US$1.06B believed to have originated from Guyana.
Four months later, law enforcement authorities in Jamaica unearthed over a hundred packages with more than 300 pounds of cocaine in containers from Guyana at the Kingston Freeport Terminal Limited (KFTL). The estimated street value was announced at US$6.59M.
