Bauxite ship intercepted with US$800M in cocaine

… on Cypriot vessel in Demerara River

A cargo ship which left Suriname destined for Europe was intercepted by local authorities early Monday morning in the Demerara River with approximately 192.42 kilograms of cocaine stashed away.

The drug was found concealed under the wooden flooring of a flat rack that is used as a bed for containers. The cocaine, with an estimated street value of Gy$165.7 billion (US$800 million), was in several rectangular shaped packages that were wrapped with black plastic.

According to reports, the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) was called in by the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), which received a tip-off from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) about possible contraband goods on board the vessel.

The Cyprus-registered vessel MV Delta Dies was docked at a wharf in Linden where it uplifted a consignment of bauxite destined for Europe.

Local authorities swarmed the cargo ship after the consignment was loaded and found the narcotics.

The vessel, along with the flat rack, was subsequently transported to Georgetown and placed at the John Fernandes terminal at Mandela Avenue, Greater Georgetown, on Tuesday morning. Further examinations were done by GRA’s Law Enforcement and Investigation Division (LEID) and Drug Examination Unit (DEU), along with CANU.

Head of CANU, James Singh, explained that his agency, along with members of the Guyana Police Force and GRA’s DEU, collaborated under the Container Control Programme to make the bust.

“Acting on information, they (GRA) would have received from their counterparts, CANU provided assistance to them alongside members of the Customs Drug Enforcement Unit. This container was found on board a vessel that had come from Suriname.”

Singh added, “A check of the vessel showed that the container had contraband inside and as such, we offloaded the container and brought it to Georgetown, where the examination was done.”

The CANU head disclosed that at the time they had confirmed an estimated 120 kilograms in cocaine, but advised that this was not a final total. He further stated that the vessel’s next destinations would have been Spain, Holland and Belgium.

At John Fernandes Terminal on Tuesday morning, ranks removed the packages from the flat rack which was labelled ALLU 57018 9-42P3. The 11 crew members who were on board the vessel were taken into custody to assist with the investigations.

Surveillance programme

Meanwhile, in a statement released by the GRA, the revenue agency pointed out that this joint surveillance programme has proven to be successful.

“Today’s discovery of narcotics on board the oceangoing vessel has once again proven the success of the GRA’s joint efforts in tackling the illicit drug trade. The GRA has long recognised the importance of forging regional and international linkages in the ongoing efforts at addressing challenges of a global magnitude such as drug trafficking and the smuggling of goods. The partnership has been successful on several fronts,” the release stated.

Back in 2012, Guyana and Suriname were the first two Caribbean countries to join the UN-funded Container Control Programme to improve port security and stop the use of containers for transnational criminal activities, including the trafficking of narcotics via the sea.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the UNODC paved the way for the establishment of joint port control units in Guyana and Suriname at the John Fernandes and Nieuwe Haven wharfs respectively. It allowed both countries to strengthen the control of inbound and outgoing containers, improve real-time exchange and analysis of information among other advantages.

Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee also lauded the collaborative efforts among international agencies. “This is another good example of international cooperation in tracking down the movement of cocaine in ships,” he said.