The majority of cocaine intercepted in Guyana continues to enter the country through Venezuela, according to Head of the Customs Anti-Narcotic Unit (CANU), James Singh, who also provided an update on the investigation into threats made against him.
Speaking with reporters on the sidelines of an event on Wednesday, Singh said investigations into the threats remain active and are being pursued with the assistance of international law enforcement agencies.
“Well I am still here so that’s a good sign right,” Singh remarked. He explained that intelligence gathered so far suggests the threats originated outside of Guyana.
“We’re still working with our international counterparts because this originated outside of Guyana based on the information that we got. It’s a Spanish group we suspect out of Venezuela,” Singh said.
He noted, however, that the investigation has been complicated by limited cooperation with authorities in Venezuela.
“Unfortunately we don’t have the sort of communication we’d want with Venezuela as we have with other countries, but we’re sharing some information with counterparts here and in the region and we’re doing our best to at least get to the bottom of it or dismay them from trying,” he stated.
Addressing questions about drug trafficking, Singh said investigations continue to point to Venezuela as the last transit point for most of the cocaine entering Guyana.
“I don’t want to keep labeling Venezuela but at the end of the day, most of the narcotics we’ve found are persons from Venezuela and evidence shows it would have come through Venezuela. Where it originated from, I have no idea. But the last place before it entered Guyana was from Venezuela and several persons arrested were Venezuelan nationals,” he said.
According to Singh, approximately 90 per cent of the cocaine seized by CANU entered Guyana through Venezuela.”I would say 90% of the drugs that we have seized – cocaine – has been originated from Venezuela,” he said, before clarifying that while Colombia is a cocaine-producing country, the shipments intercepted by CANU most recently entered Guyana from Venezuela.
“Colombia is a producer of cocaine… but in terms of it coming from there, I can only tell you the last place it entered Guyana from was from Venezuela,” Singh explained.
Asked whether the growing Venezuelan migrant population could be facilitating criminal networks in Guyana, Singh said that assessment falls primarily within the remit of the Guyana Police Force and other intelligence agencies.
He said CANU has sought information from authorities in Venezuela but has received little cooperation. In the meantime, local agencies have continued strengthening border security and interdiction efforts.
As an example, Singh pointed to the recent discovery of a quantity of marijuana at a wharf, saying the seizure demonstrated that law enforcement agencies are effectively monitoring the country’s ports of entry.
“The fact that we were able to detect it is an indication that law enforcement is doing what they are supposed to at the necessary ports of entry,” he said.
