Yupukari cocaine plane – Army, police officers fingered
-GDF opens wide-ranging probe
TWO senior members of the joint services have been fingered in the landing and operations of a cocaine-carrying Colombian-registered aircraft that was discovered at Yupukari, Region Nine in September this year.
The officers- a deputy superintendent of police and a 2nd lieutenant of the GDF have been removed from their postings in the area as the GDF-led Board of Inquiry commenced. Guyana Chronicle was told that the final report into the investigation concerning the plane cited the GDF officer for abandoning his post when he was asked to stake out the area where the plane was found and also he has been accused of tampering with the scene of the investigation.
Regarding the police officer, this newspaper was told that the final report cited him for physically assaulting civilians at the scene who wanted to report the discovery of the plane to authorities.
Residents had found the plane almost one month before an official report was made to authorities, according to the preliminary findings of Brigadier (Ret’d) Edward Collins. According to information reaching this newspaper Collins in his report recommended that the two officers be disciplined and also recommended further that an investigation he conducted into whether they knew of the aircraft operations.
Collins also recommended that a more senior GDF be posted to command the troops in the Rupununi and that the military should augment its strength in the border region.
“The aircraft was discovered by the Joint Services on September [13] but it was in that location long before that. There is enough evidence to suggest that the aircraft came from Colombia and was on its way to Guyana. It developed engine problems and the pilots had a requirement to conduct a certain manoeuver in order not to lose consciousness and when they got to Guyana, because the aircraft could not start, it remained there for a while. We have evidence to suggest that the residents found that site by August 18, 2016,” the Ministry of Presidency had quoted Collins as saying in a statement.
Collins, who was commissioned to investigate, examine, advise and report on the circumstances under which the foreign aircraft entered into the country, had initially noted that the residents were not forthcoming with providing information to security forces. “All of the Toshaos were interviewed and I do not know why they were unwilling to provide the information they had to the security forces. I can only assume… based on the evidence that I have received so far, that the relationship between the villages and the security forces is not as [we would have] expected,” he said.
At the handing over of the final report he said that his decision to host public meetings in several villages such as Katoka, Kaicumbay, Yupukari and other villages, along with the Regional Chairman and Regional Executive Officer of Region Nine, proved to be a worthwhile exercise, since it allowed him greater insight into the facts discovered during the probe. Brigadier Collins noted as well that through that process a number of eyewitnesses had stepped forward.
“There has been additional evidence, which have caused us to firm up our findings into the circumstances under which this aircraft came into Guyana illegally. I wish to thank the Toshaos, the senior councils, and the village leaders in nearby villages for their corporation. Since they got involved, there have been more revelations [and] more residents came forward voluntarily. They did their own investigations,” Brigadier Collins said.
Upon further investigations, members of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) were led to an abandoned camp at Yupukari, which is believed to be connected to persons, who may have knowledge of the aircraft.
Brigadier Collins also said, “One thing that came out of the inquiry that we did not recongnise earlier was the involvement of a woman, and this [revelation] was because of the voluntary evidence presented by the residents.” He also said that coming out from the meetings was a recommendation for the setting up of a Village Intelligence Committee, where Toshaos and other village leaders can pass on information on any suspicious activity to a relevant authority. However, the Brigadier added that the maintenance of public trust would be critical to ensuring that villagers are forthcoming with such information.
On September 13, 2016 a plane, bearing registration number N767Z, was first brought to the attention of officials by residents of the area. A Joint Army and Police team, inclusive of Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU), was dispatched to the location to conduct investigations launched into the sightings of the aircraft. The COI was appointed on September 28, 2016.
