82 deliberate/snap operation conducted for 2018

Jun 14, 2019 News

A total of 82 deliberate/snap operations were conducted by CANU during the reporting period of 2018 as against 47 for the same period in 2017. This was according to their Deputy Head, Leslie Ramlall.

CANU Deputy Head, Leslie Ramlall

Many of these operations were conducted in the Administrative Regions. They resulted in the seizure of narcotics, arrests and prosecution of traffickers as well as the seizure and subsequent forfeiture of their assets, according to Ramlall.
For those operations that were conducted in Regions One, Two and Nine, the officers were deployed for the duration and these operations required careful planning and proved to be costly. However, some of these operations were successful while others enable the officers to have a better understanding of the environment they will have to operate in the future.
In the area of Joint Operations, Ramlall said that the Unit’s ability to conduct joint operations with other agencies such as the Guyana Police Force and the Guyana Defence Force testifies to the level of cooperation among the agencies.
Several such operations he said were conducted during 2018 which would have resulted in the seizure or eradication of narcotics and the seizure of arms and ammunition. Additionally, joint operations involving other stakeholders were conducted at their International airports through OP PALEHORSE.
Narcotics Seized
A total of 171.58 kgs of cocaine, 543.256 kgs of cannabis, 532.8 grams of ecstasy, 304 grams of heroin, 100 grams of crystal methamphetamine and 39 grams of cannabis seeds were seized in 2018 as against 291.089 kgs of cocaine, 123.799 kgs of cannabis and 1.602 kgs of heroin seized for the year 2017.
While there was a reduction of the seizure of cocaine, it must be noted that two reasons contributed to this.
Ramlall indicated that the vast increase in cannabis seized during 2018, this was mainly due to a substantial increase of smuggling of narcotics from Berbice and Linden to Georgetown for onward destination to some CARICOM countries.
This spike was seen mostly during the June to August period which coincides with the Summer vacation. It is known that a lot of social activities usually occur locally and there is always an increase of tourists to the Caribbean during this period.
The Unit managed to dismantle the main ring that was involved in this activity from Berbice and also effectively curtailed the smuggling from Linden.
As it relates to the new phenomena of synthetic drugs in Guyana, Ramlall said this is a very worrying situation. CANU was required to conduct several investigations in schools in Regions Three and Four in relation to the sale and use of ecstasy.
This situation, Ramlall said, is certainly very disturbing and while there were some level of intervention by the various stakeholders in providing educational and counselling sessions for teachers, students and parents, much more needs to be done to arrest this situation.
He said it should be noted that it was established that most of the synthetic drugs are coming through the ports shared with Guyana’s eastern neighbour. The Unit has been in collaboration with relevant counterparts to address this development.

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