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Venezuela is the main gateway for cocaine into Guyana
– CANU says 90% seized came through neighbouring country
(Kaieteur News) – Nine out of every 10 cocaine seizures made in Guyana originated from Venezuela, according to Head of the Customs Anti-Narcotic Unit (CANU) James Singh, who also disclosed that investigators are still pursuing leads into death threats against him allegedly linked to a Spanish-speaking group believed to be operating out of the neighbouring country.
Speaking in an interview on the sidelines of an event held at the Marriott Hotel in Georgetown on Wednesday, Head of the Customs Anti Narcotics Unit (CANU) James Singh addressed ongoing joint investigations into the flow of high-potency drugs into the country and the unresolved threats against him.
CANU Director, James Singh
Asked about the source of narcotics entering Guyana, Singh said the pattern has been consistent.
“I would say 90% of the drugs that we have seized, cocaine, has been originated from Venezuela,” he said.
He was careful to distinguish between where drugs are produced and where they last passed through before reaching Guyana. Asked whether Colombian cocaine was making its way into the country, Singh noted that while Colombia is a producer of cocaine, he could only confirm the last transit point.
“I can only tell you where the last place that [cocaine] entered Guyana from was from Venezuela,” he said, adding that many of those arrested in connection with the seizures have been Venezuelan nationals.
Meanwhile, on the threats against his own life, Singh said the matter remains under investigation with international partners. He disclosed that evidence points to a Spanish-speaking group suspected to be operating out of Venezuela.
“Well, I’m still here, so that’s a good sign, right?” he said, before confirming no arrest has yet been made.
He acknowledged the limits of cross-border cooperation. “We don’t have the sort of communication we’d want with Venezuela as we have with other countries,” Singh said, adding that his agency continues sharing information with regional counterparts and doing “our best to at least get to the bottom of it or dissuade them from trying.”
On concerns that Venezuelan migration could give rise to small criminal networks locally, Singh said that assessment falls to the police and intelligence agencies. “I can only tell you what we have seen, and at the end of the day, whether those persons are part of a group or so on, we have no idea,” he said, noting that outreach for information to contacts in Venezuela has gone unanswered. In the meantime, he said, his agency is working with the police, the Guyana Defence Force and other bodies to strengthen existing systems.
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