Less cocaine being seized; Crime Chief credits prosecution rates

By Jomo Paul

Crime Chief, Wendell Blanhum during a presentation at Eve Leary on Friday, November 13, revealed that for 2013, the police managed to intercept 508 Kilograms (KG) of cocaine between January 1 and October 31st.

However, for 2014 and 2015, that amount decreased by more than 300%. He noted that 2014 recorded drug seizures for the stated period at a quantity of 155 KG while for 2015, the amount stands at 149 KG.

Asked by iNews for clarity into the revelations, Blanhum credited the decrease in seizure quantities to the fact that there have been more drug busts and prosecutions.

“From the time there is an increase in our prosecution rates there has always been a decrease in the amount of seizures…it has been ongoing for some time now – we have been observing that trend,” the Crime Chief stated.

“If there have been five seizures in one month, I don’t think anyone will be going there to carry out cocaine in the next month,” he added.

The records show that for 2013, there were 141 persons charged with attempting to traffic cocaine, for 2014 the figure was 111 and in 2015 the figure stands at 132.

However, despite the decrease in quantity, Guyanese have continued to explore ingenuous methods of trafficking the illicit substance. Cocaine has been found in milk, eggplant, fake awarras, seafood and alcohol.