In light of the recent discovery of 1000 kilograms of cocaine in a Guyana-registered vessel in the Atlantic Ocean by Spanish authorities, the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) on Thursday evening stated that the vessel ‘Mathieu’ departed Guyana with the necessary clearance from MARAD.
“There is strong intelligence that the vessel was loaded at sea coupled with the fact that when intercepted, there was equipment on deck that was used in the transfer of heavy cargo while at sea, as seen in other seizures.”
As such, Guyana is maintaining operational silence, including a media blackout, deliberately as this is an ongoing investigation on both sides of the Atlantic.
“We can say without fear of contradiction by our international partners that Guyana played an integral part in this operation and continues to be part of the ongoing investigation since it involved a trans-Atlantic drug trafficking network.”
The release further stated that this is one of a number of operations for the year in which Guyana has played a crucial role that has resulted in the seizures of several tonnes of cocaine and the arrests of several individuals.
These operations, CANU stated involved the transfer of drugs at sea using vessels that passed through our EEZ, and in one case, the vessel collected cargo in Guyana and was then loaded with cocaine after it departed our waters.
The drug enforcement body contended that these operations were all coordinated with international partners, and it is a demonstration of the government’s willingness to work to ensure that the country does not become a transshipment hub for narcotics, as well as the confidence in our law enforcement agencies to do complex operations of this nature.
“Guyana’s reputation as a place to avoid when transshipping drugs grows with every interdiction; these ‘drug busts’ are the best indicator of the true situation of the narco-trade in Guyana, and there is nothing to be gained by public gloating over present victories and possibly revealing information that would be useful to narco-traffickers in their evolving efforts to avoid detection,” CANU added.
Meanwhile, it further stated that the Government of Guyana remains committed to improving relations with its partner nations in the fight against narcotics trafficking.
As a result, the government has dedicated significant resources as well as both demand and supply reduction efforts to effectively address, disrupt, and dismantle these drug trafficking networks, winning the war on drugs one battle at a time.
It was reported that agents of Spain’s National Police and Customs Surveillance of the Tax Agency had seized some 1000 kilograms of cocaine off the vessel, in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean near Cape Verde.
Four Guyanese and two Albanians were arrested and transferred to the Fulmar Tax Agency patrol boat where the vessel was towed to the Port of Arrecife, the main port facility for Lanzarote, which is one of the Canary Islands off the coast of West Africa administered by Spain.
The vessel in question is registered in the port of Georgetown and was sailing without a flag at the time of the interception.
The operation was carried out jointly with the Portuguese Judicial Police in collaboration with the Spanish Navy and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) of the United States, which warned of the existence of an international criminal organisation that intended to transfer a large amount of cocaine from one ship to another on the high seas.
