CANU seeks international help in $550M cocaine bust

May 24, 2017 News

The country’s leading drug agency is seeking international assistance to retrieve video footage that had been wiped from a Digital Video Recording (DVR) that was seized from one of the suspects in the $550 million cocaine bust.

The cocaine that was discovered.

Customs Anti Narcotics Unit (CANU) believes that there is evidence on the device that would further link the illegal substance that was discovered in timber to the five suspects, Tazim and his son, Nazim Gafoor, Hakim Mohamed, Narine Lall and Steven Vieira.
The discovery was made on May 12, last, at Zeelugt, East Bank Essequibo (EBE). While Gafoor, Mohamed and Vieira were released pending investigation, the drug agency has issued a wanted bulletin for Narine Lall, said to be the shipper.
Kaieteur News understands that the footage might provide evidence of when the illegal substance was being neatly packed in the wood pallets and stored among genuine boards and loaded it in a truck to be exported to the United States of America (USA).
The drug agency in a statement yesterday said that Vieira, through his lawyer, has provided a statement to investigators denying culpability.
CANU said that it would only be fair to charge persons after ranks have enough evidence to link the parties and the contraband—in this case, a successful prosecution is likely rather than to rush and come up short in court.
Kaieteur News was told that the bust was made after CANU officials received a tip. When they acted, the boards were being packed into the truck.
The truck driver and porters were arrested but were subsequently released after it was discovered that the vehicle and its workers were hired to transport the timber.
Reports are that Vieira is listed on the shipping documents as the representative of Naraine Lall, the shipper.
The drug agency said that ranks conducted a search at the parapet in front of the premises of Akeem Mohamed of Lot 227 Zeelugt, East Bank Essequibo, and searched a truck laden with several pallets of 1×6 dressed lumber boards prepared for export.
Several pieces of boards were drilled randomly by the ranks and revealed a whitish substance. They were packed between genuine boards.

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