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US-sanctioned Colombian drug suspect nabbed in Guyana
(Kaieteur News) – The Guyana Police Force confirmed that on Tuesday a Lethem-bound minibus was stopped at the Kurupukari Police Checkpoint during routine security screening, leading to a major arrest.
Yeison Andres Sanchez Vallejo
A passenger, later identified as 33-year-old Colombian national Yeison Andres Sanchez Vallejo, was found in possession of a passport stamped “RLL” (Refused Leave to Land). Further checks revealed that Sanchez Vallejo is sanctioned by the United States for involvement in drug trafficking activities. He was immediately taken into custody and is currently assisting police with ongoing investigations, police said in a press release.
Back in June this year, Vallejo was among several others including Senior Superintendent Himnauth Sawh who landed on the United States Department of the Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions list for trafficking drugs to the United States through Guyana.
The other sanctioned men are: businessman Paul Daby Jr., 40, also known as “Daby Ramsuchit”, “Paul”, “Rondell” and “Randell” of Georgetown; Mark Cromwell, 43, known as “Demon” and “Diamond” of Lot 40 Vigilance, East Coast Demerara, and Lot 10 Buxton, ECD; and 50-year-old Randolph Duncan for drug trafficking. Additionally, Colombian national, Manuel Salazar Gutierrez, also known as “Manguera” and “Orejon”
OFAC had stated in the release announcing the sanctions that for decades, Guyana has been a transhipment point for the movement of drugs from South America to the United States and Europe. “Drug traffickers exploit the rivers and jungles of South America by transiting large quantities of cocaine, from Colombia and Venezuela, through the waters of Guyana and Suriname,” it was stated. OFAC outlined that Guyana’s proximity to the Caribbean, as well as reported corruption along its ports and borders, allows maritime vessels, also known as narco-submarines, to transit through its waters undetected.
It was stated that traffickers utilise these vessels to smuggle cocaine from the ports of Guyana and Suriname, across the Atlantic, to the United States, Europe, and the Caribbean. OFAC said, too, that traffickers also coordinate the importation of cocaine loads from Colombia and Venezuela to Guyana via small aircraft, utilising illegal airstrips in Guyana as landing spots. “Cocaine has been discovered buried in underground bunkers located on airstrips and in jungle territory, with Guyana’s Barima-Waini region as a prominent location. Cocaine is then flown, via aircraft, to the United States, Europe, and the Caribbean,” it was stated.
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