GEORGETOWN: The recent discovery by United States officials of cocaine in shrimp onboard a container from Guyana has once again brought to light the level of ingenuity by drug smugglers to utilize concealment methods that at times would require sophisticated detection techniques.
It has also highlighted the pervasiveness of the narcotics trade and the need for law enforcement officials, particularly the Guyana Revenue Authority’s (GRA’s) Customs and Trade Administration to fortify its efforts to monitor incoming and outbound cargo at the wharves, transit sheds and other ports of entry.
In the interest of revenue protection and the prevention of trade in prohibited and restricted items, the GRA utilizes profiling criteria to determine if cargo is considered high risk and requires random inspections. Examination of cargo is also premised on the method of concealment that is being detected.
Additionally, in keeping with maritime and other requirements, consignments destined for the United Kingdom, Canada and United States are scanned utilizing the stationary and mobile scanners that are available.
These methods have greatly assisted customs officials in their inspection duties particularly on items that would require more than what can be done manually. Thus, consignments of shrimp will be subject to the image scanning technology.
Moreover, the GRA’s Drug Enforcement Unit (DEU) has spearheaded and has been successful in major drug busts, including through its active Port Control Unit (PCU) under the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) programme.
For 2015 alone there were some major busts recorded such as the March 30, discovery of cocaine in shipments of charcoal at Silver Hill, Linden Highway and the January 6 drug bust on a Cypriot vessel, the M/V DeltaDiep, that was destined for Belgium with a shipment of bauxite from Guyana.
These achievements are testimony to Guyana’s bilateral relations with other countries and the GRA’s commitment to its obligations under international maritime regulations which among other things, mandate that exports, particularly container cargo be subject to image scanning.
In light of the notably high frequency in the attempts to traffic narcotics in and out of Guyana over many years, the GRA is determined to ensure that its present and future operations effectively tackle the trade and pursue more enforcement activities that help to build confidence while at the same time expose the wrong doings of those found in breach of the law.
At present investigations are ongoing into the recent discovery of cocaine in shrimp in the US and more information will be provided as it becomes available.
