The container with the drugs found at the Belgian port of Antwerp (Belgian Police photo)
June 2, 2021
In less than a year, there have been three major international drug busts linked to Guyana, all of which have prompted local investigations but without a single charge being brought.
The busts have raised a number of questions, particularly as it relates to the level of security in place at the country’s ports since the shipments were able to leave without being detected.
They have also led to concerns about the operation of the container scanning system at the Guyana Revenue Authority and possible corruption involving the monitoring staff.
The latest of the three busts was in early March this year.
Law enforcement officials in Jamaica had announced on March 2nd that they had unearthed over 100 packages containing more than 300 pounds of cocaine in containers which were shipped from Guyana. The cocaine was found at the Kingston Freeport Terminal Limited (KFTL).
The Jamaica Observer newspaper reported that the drug was found in two of six containers that arrived on the island from Guyana en route to Haiti and China.
One of the containers contained rice while the other had logs. The container loaded with rice was destined for Haiti and the one with the logs was intended for China.
The report had said that while searching the containers, Narcotics Police accompanied by members of the Jamaica Customs Contraband Enforcement Team found a total of 122 packages (110 in one and 12 in another), each with a compressed white substance resembling cocaine.
The total weight of the drugs was approximately 139.4 kilograms and the estimated street value was US$6.59 million.
A number of persons including the brokers and shippers of the shipment were questioned as part of the investigation. However, no charge was laid.
About four months before this, law enforcement officials in Belgium announced in November last year that they were probing the discovery of a massive 11.5 tonnes of cocaine in a container of scrap metal shipped from Guyana.
The shipment which was described as “the largest overseas drug bust ever, worldwide,” was seized upon its arrival at the Port of Antwerp. It carried an estimated street value of 900 million Euros.
The Brussels Times had reported counter-narcotics prosecutors as saying that they tracked the transatlantic journey of the cocaine from Guyana.
Authorities had issued an arrest warrant for Marlon Primo, who was said to be the shipper but he was never arrested.
About three months before this, authorities in Hamburg, Germany announced in August last year that they were probing the discovery of 1.5 tonnes of cocaine in a container of rice from Guyana.
A Deutsche Welle report had said that the seizure was made on August 22nd, 2020, after investigators at the Joint Customs and Police Investigation Group (JIT) received a tip-off about drug smuggling.
The cocaine which had an estimated street value of around €300 million (US$353 million) was hidden between sacks of rice in the container, the Hamburger Abendblatt newspaper said.
There was no arrest on the local front in relation to this bust.
Irregularities
In two of the three cases, the container scanning facility was scrutinized after the probes had uncovered that there were irregularities in the handling of the shipments locally.
In relation to the August, 2020 bust, the Customs Anti-Narcotic Unit (CANU) had said there was no “conclusive” evidence that the cocaine found by German authorities had been loaded here.
The agency had noted that it was possible that the narcotics were loaded while the shipment was in-transit in the Dominican Republic.
Nevertheless, CANU had said that it uncovered a number of “loopholes” and “irregularities” in the local handling of the shipment.
As a result, CANU had said that it engaged in a collaborative investigation with the GRA to fix the situation.
The Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) had disclosed that the container, which originated from a mill in Berbice, was consigned to a company, FHU KONPACK.
It was loaded on the MV Asiatic Wind on May 25th, 2020 and departed Guyana the following day destined for Poland.
As it relates to the interception in Jamaica, CANU Head James Singh, in an interview with Stabroek News in March had disclosed that that the findings into this probe were submitted to the relevant agencies for an internal review and recommendations on the way forward.
In a press release, CANU had said that the investigation confirmed that both contaminated containers left a city wharf in Georgetown.
The agency said that investigations revealed that security checks were done by personnel of the GRA prior to the departure of the shipment and it was suspected that the containers may have been contaminated after those security checks were done.
Singh had noted that in an effort to prevent a recurrence, a multi-agency collaboration was implemented at the container scanning facility.
This means that ranks from CANU are now stationed at the facility to assist staff from the GRA with the scanning process.
Sources had previously told Stabroek News that the scanned images from this shipment were either deleted or altered. However, after international help was sought, authorities were able to retrieve the deleted images.
Stabroek News was previously informed that the GRA submitted a folder which contained thousands of images which were retrieved.
Minister of Home Affairs Robeson Benn had later told reporters that details about who removed the images during the scanning process were established.
“I think there is some difficulty because over 50,000 images were provided to the CANU. They are trying nevertheless to examine them. But for sure it is known who removed the images, the dates and the times,” Benn had said.
GRA had subsequently dismissed some scanning staff who reportedly were operating the scanner at the time the container left Guyana.
The unsolved busts leave open the question of the extent of criminal collusion between drug traffickers and staff of the GRA and shipping companies. Queries have also been raised about the connection between the trafficking and the rice industry. Lastly, how and where these large shipments of cocaine entered the country and were possibly repackaged has not been explored at all.
