DEA advances in information sharing with local law enforcement officers

Oct 08, 2016 News

The information sharing between United States, Drug Enforcement Agency, (DEA) and Guyana has increased significantly since the agency was launched here in February. This is according to United States Ambassador Perry Holloway.

US Ambassador
Perry Halloway

Holloway briefly commented on the work of the agency following a press briefing at City Hall, earlier this week.
The Ambassador said that the information sharing has increased since the DEA arrived and the office has tripled in size since the launch.
“Now we’re sort of fully staffed. There will be greater information sharing and training for not only CANU but other law enforcement agencies, going forward as well. So I look forward to many goods thing in the next six months.”
Given the communication and progress, the Ambassador said that there will be more training and support for CANU and the national police.
Asked about the issue of overall criminal activity in Guyana, Holloway noted however that the reduction of crime in any area rests with the government and its people.
The US Drug Enforcement Agency in Guyana was launched in February with a focus on intelligence and evidence gathering. At the launch, US Ambassador Perry Holloway reminded that the DEA agents will not be going around “kicking down doors and dragging people out on the streets.”
Rather the agency, he said, will play a major role in working along with the local agencies in tackling the drug trade and providing information to the local agencies that will benefit the efforts to counter the narco-trade.

To have the DEA in Guyana will bolster and enhance the efforts of the Guyana Police Force, CANU and the GRA drug enforcement unit, he said.
US Ambassador Perry Holloway said the DEA should be seen in the light of addressing matters dealing with drugs and the United States.
Regional Director for the DEA, Matthew Donahue, said that partnership is important in the drug fight as Guyana became the eighth Caribbean and Latin American country to have the permanent presence of a DEA office.
With the Drug Enforcement Agency, Guyana was expected to see a number of other benefits, such as training for the local institutions. There is a programme through which several local officers have received CSI training in addition to equipment at the police academy.
The average cost of having a US individual overseas anywhere in the world is pegged at US$500,000. Ambassador Holloway noted that there will also be significant training and technical assistance provided under a US programme which is in addition to the annual provision of between US$2M and US$3M assistance in this area of crime and narcotics.
“ What the DEA is bringing is not so much more money; it is bringing the expertise in the people, the networks and the information gathering tools to be able to leverage information and their network throughout the world,” Holloway explained.
The DEA is considered as one of the world’s top or the most premier institutions to deal with drug enforcement internationally.
Previously, before July last year, Guyana had to seek help from the Trinidad and Tobago-based DEA office, in the sharing of intelligence and exchange of mechanisms to tackle drug-smuggling problems.