The need for stricter drug interventions

Feb 27, 2014 Editorial

The fact that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency sometimes takes years to build a case on narcotics traffickers, violators of money laundering, and terror suspects seems to have been lost on local law enforcement operatives. It is almost as if there is no real desire to nab the kingpins or big fishes. How can an agency claim to have been alerted by the number of times someone traveled abroad and not put in place the necessary surveillance to determine who are their contacts and associates? It is as if the capture of a smalltime mule represents the end of their professional efforts.
If we are really serious about disrupting the supply and demand chain in the organized crime business of narco-trafficking, then it is to be expected that all stops would be pulled to ensure that not only the hapless mules are caught but also their agents who give them the drugs to take overseas. Any drug enforcement unit worth its salt would have put in place the surveillance mechanism available to it. These would include intercepts of telephone conversations, use of covert operatives, and quiet background checks with organisations like the Guyana Revenue Authority, Police Criminal Records Office, and the Immigration Office, just to name a few.
The dismantling of criminal enterprises demands that resources must be deployed in a prioritized manner based upon extensive knowledge of the criminal environment. This brings into focus the need to continually engage communities in a framework of mutual respect for human rights, and adherence to the rule of law. It could be argued that the way that the law enforcers deal with those members of society who have access to the criminal environment, and who are willing to provide information for intelligence purposes should be evaluated if maximum benefit is to be derived from the relationship.
So the question remains unanswered as to why the various sources of intelligence sharing are not more widely utilised. It does the image of this country no good when mules are intercepted after leaving this jurisdiction through official departure points. It would appear as if the drug sniffing dogs have outlived their usefulness, and therefore we should be told the results of an audit of their performance. Many are the anecdotes that for every one mule intercepted locally at least three have passed through successfully.
A caution is apposite with respect to the use of informants. It should be noted that not all data garnered from the use of informants or human intelligence sources have been accurate or can be described as quality intelligence. However a properly coordinated human sources scheme can provide the type of professional management and high level of oversight required in such a sensitive undertaking. In the Guyana context with the ever present potential for abuse it would be necessary to ensure that any informant scheme is subjected to a formal independent audit complete with a range of accountability systems to guarantee quality. Corruption, ethical informant management, and substandard intelligence management are high risk considerations which could be addressed through an adequate policy design.
For government law enforcement interdiction, information sharing, and intelligence efforts to be taken seriously more attention must be paid to the enabling environmental factors which are seemingly set to overwhelm the relevant agencies individually and collectively. More can and must be done; acting like a petulant child in the absence of vital information from the large international partners is useless. Both sides have good grounds for some of their actions but Guyanese are more inclined to demand more from the supply or as in our case, the transit side of the international illegal drug trade. Yes the European and North American countries should do more to address the consumer demand side of the process, but in the final analysis how we commit to dealing with the passage of illegal drugs, and attendant money laundering activities will determine the level of meaningful international cooperation we receive.
The eruption of mansions and massive buildings from questionable funding does not send the right message to citizens especially if there is no movement by officialdom to question the source.

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The need for stricter drug interventions

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