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James Singh reappointed to serve as CANU head
Kaieteur News – James Singh has been reinstated as the Head of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) which falls under the Ministry of Home Affairs. Although no official statement has been released by the Home Affairs Ministry, Singh confirmed his appointment with Kaieteur News last night.
Re-appointed Head of CANU, James Singh
When asked about how he felt about being reinstated, Singh said, “It feels good to be back.”He added that his first plans are to get briefed on all that has occurred and he will be supporting the current team that is in place, ensuring that they continue to serve in the same professional manner.
Kaieteur News understands that Singh’s appointment was followed by a decision made by the Minister of Home Affairs Robeson Benn and he is expected to assume duties immediately. The agency was previously being led by Deputy Head, Lesley Ramlall.
It was also noted that the National Anti-Narcotics Agency (NANA) has been demobilized and its Head Former Major General Michael Atherly failed to have his contract renewed.
James Singh was appointed to head the agency in 2008 but was dismissed from his duties in June 2017 by the A Partnership for National Unity+ Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) government. At that time when Kaieteur News had contacted Singh for a comment about his dismissal, he stated that he was notified by Khemraj Ramjattan who was serving as the Minister of Public Security.
Ramjattan had told Singh that his contract would be coming to an end but his contract was initially expected to be up in 2021. He was informed that the decision to terminate him followed a presidential order to the Commission of Inquiry (COI) to look into the circumstances surrounding the interception, detention and eventual release of a nameless private maritime vessel that was in Guyana’s sea space.
The vessel was spotted moving north on the Corentyne Coast, between February 11 and February 14, 2017. It was intercepted by local authorities while in the vicinity of Shell Beach and it was then taken to the Waini River where it was searched.
No narcotics were found on the vessel and it was released, but there were suspicions that it was linked to a major high sea drug bust that captured four Guyanese nationals- miles north of Suriname in international waters with netted cocaine worth US$71.7M.
Singh was described as an individual who made significant contributions to Guyana’s fight against drug trafficking and his contributions were said to be impactful both in and out of Guyana.
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