Following the massive drug bust at the Clandestine Airstrip in Region One (Barima-Waini), the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) has disclosed that the cocaine found amounted to some 4.4 tonnes with a street value of some €176 million (G40.7 billion).
The narcotics, which were found hidden in several bunkers around the illegal airstrip near Matthew’s Ridge, were destroyed after samples were extracted for further investigations.
This operation was a collaboration between the local Joint Services and the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
Law enforcement officials believe that the drugs were brought to Guyana from neighbouring country/countries and were stored until further transhipment to Europe.
Director of CANU, James Singh, told reporters at the site in Region One that the airstrip was illegally built “with a plan to accommodate small aircraft, bringing several kilos of cocaine from outside of Guyana here.”
“[The cocaine was] found in four pits or bunkers neatly camouflaged in about 30 minutes walk into the jungle in different directions. There were also several camps within the jungle… The fact that this amount of drugs was found in several locations means that it was waiting for the transhipment… They were waiting for the opportune moment. That’s why I said we were very successful not just in seizing but detecting a new concealment method [and got] an idea as to how big the network is,” Singh stated.
Meanwhile, Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn who joined law enforcement officers in Region One for the destruction exercise earlier today added, “I emphasise again that Guyana is a victim of this illegal type of and nefarious activity. We don’t produce cocaine, we don’t transit it, we don’t make the guns, which you see a couple here – a couple rifles… Drug trafficking is associated with the other elements of transnational organised crime – money laundering, gun smuggling, homicides unknown, and unsolvable in many instances, and a general decline in law and order in any environment where it takes over. We don’t want to get to that place.”
See below for the full statement from CANU:
Matter/Story: CANU Seizes and Destroys Large Quantity of Cocaine
Date of Interception: Saturday 31st August 2024
Place of Interception: Clandestine Airstrip, Region #1
• On Saturday 31st August 2024, CANU officers, in collaboration with the Guyana
Defence Force (GDF) Special Forces Unit, carried out an operation in the Region #1
area which led to the discovery of an illegal airstrip. A subsequent search of the
surrounding area resulted in the unearthing of 4.4 tons of suspected cocaine, which has
a current street value of one hundred and seventy-six million Euros (€176,000,000).
This operation was driven by intelligence regarding illegal flights into Guyana and was
supported by information shared with the United States Drug Enforcement Agency
(DEA) and other international partners.
• This seizure highlights the Customs Anti-Narcotic Unit (CANU) and the
Government’s unwavering commitment to combating the narcotics trade in Guyana and
collaborating with international partners. The Government of Guyana is making
significant strides to equip the Joint Services with the necessary tools to combat drug
trafficking and other illicit activities within the country. Recent investments in the GDF
Coast Guard, Air Corps, and the Guyana Police to enhance monitoring of border regions
underscore this dedication.
• This seizure also demonstrates the confidence that the Guyanese Government,
international agencies, and Joint Services have in CANU’s ability to fulfill its mandate.
CANU has been leading Guyana’s anti-narcotics efforts, resulting in previous seizures
of aircraft, and semi-submersibles, and the arrests of high-profile drug traffickers.
• Samples were taken and the remainder of the narcotics were destroyed.
● Investigations are ongoing.
