Cocaine vessel was switched- Jamaican authorities

The Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) says it is not responsible for packing forest produce into containers, or examining and sealing any shipment destined for export. As such, the GFC has refuted claims that it cleared the container of timber recently intercepted with cocaine in Jamaica.

Additionally, the GFC has since launched an investigation into the shipment and found that there was a change in the vessel that shipped the timber out of Guyana. Documents show that the shipment was initially prepared for a particular vessel, yet ended up leaving on another.

To set the record straight on this matter, the GFC reportedly dispatched a correspondence to Commissioner General of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), Kurshid Sattaur, who was quoted in the media as making claims against the Forestry Commission.

Sattaur is reported as saying that the container of timber was not cleared by Customs but by the GFC, and that there is no paper trail of the shipment with the GRA.

Last Wednesday, March 16th, Jamaican Customs officials discovered in the container of wood packed on the Vega Azurit vessel, five bags of cocaine weighing some 122.65 kilograms and fetching a street value of J$217 million. However, while GRA has shied away from the blame, the Guyana Forestry Commission maintains that its responsibility is merely to ensure that forest produce exported are properly graded and have satisfied all of the other export procedures. These requirements mandate all exporters of wood products to have a Timber Marketing Certificate (TMC) after all produce has been graded and has met required standards. An Export Certificate (EC) is also required, after which the exporter must complete the Customs declaration (C72) and other forms required by Customs and Trade Administration (CTA). These are then attached to the TMC along with other documents to be stamped “ready for export” by the GFC.

In keeping with these procedures, GFC stated, it received the C72 forms on March 1, 2011 and granted the “ok to load” the following day to the examining officer, who then inspected and sealed the containers, including the container on March 11, 2011.

“The GFC cannot be held responsible for the clearing of this container for export,” the commission is maintaining. Additionally, Guyana Times International understands, the GFC, in its investigations, contacted Head of the Transnational Crime and Narcotics Division of the Jamaican Police Force, SSP Warren C Clarke, who supplied the container number, ZCSU 8316084.The container was traced to the John Fernandes Wharf, and was shipped by ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Limited. The Jamaica official also confirmed that the container was shipped on the MV Vega Azurit on March 12, 2011.

The GFC also discovered that the container was initially listed on export documents for a shipment of logs by the Aroaima Forest Producers Association (AFPA) and was slated for export via another vessel, the MV Stadt Rotenburg. The produce was graded and inspected in Aroaima, and the GFC grading inspector signed off the TMC document on February 18, stating that 180 pieces of logs were inspected.

The exporter, AFAPA, had applied to the GFC for an export certificate to ship 130 pieces of the already-inspected 180 logs a week later. Since the produce was already checked and verified, the GFC approved the export certificate. However, the GFC claimed, while the Guyana Customs and Trade Administration (CTA) checked and sealed seven containers on February 28, eight containers were listed on the C72 form. Sometime after the documents were submitted to the shipping company and CTA, the vessel’s name was changed from MV Stadt Rotenburg to MV Vega Azurit.

The Guyana Forestry Commission now believes that the change in vessel might have involved assistance of a person or persons from the CTA and possibly the shipping company as well. A physical inspection of the logs and containers at the terminal in Jamaica has already established that this container was indeed part of the original shipment. The GFC maintains confidence in its “robust procedures” and re-affirms its commitment to work with the GRA to ensure the credibility and integrity of Guyana’s forest produce exports.

Sattaur said on Friday, March 18th, that it is unclear how the container left the port without being cleared, but he added that it was no fault of the GRA, as no supporting documents can be found in the records of the Customs Department.

Speaking to this newspaper, Sattaur said GRA has a strict standard procedure for clearing all exports and all containers, and it is impossible for the illegal substance to have been on the container and not be detected if it was checked. He contended that the particular container was not checked by any customs officials, as no official documentation has been found.

It is suspected that there is a drug ring operating between both countries, and the recent arrival of 200 lbs of marijuana from Jamaica only gives rise to this suspicion. No one has as yet been arrested in Jamaica for the cocaine bust.