US DEA tipped off by Canada
A second major drug shipment is being traced back to Guyana after US federal agents on Wednesday seized 100 kilos of cocaine found inside pepper sauce cartons aboard a ship in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands.
A day after announcing one of the largest drug busts in Ontario’s history, Durham police working with the Canada Border Services Agency and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) tipped off the U.S Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to the second shipment, which was stopped in St Croix.
Like in the first shipment, the drugs were hidden in cardboard dividers in 139 boxes of food-seasoning products that were destined for Caribbean International Food Distributors, based in Etobicoke.
The drugs were found after DEA agents raided the ship. Canadian law enforcement officials say more arrests are likely.
According to the Canadian press, the busts are part of a major anti-narcotics initiative dubbed “Project Falcon,” which sought to identify the sources of the criminal network that transported cocaine to street gang members and drug abusers in the Durham region.
On December 8, officers found 276 kilos of high-quality cocaine at the Port of Saint John, New Brunswick, aboard a ship, Tropic Canada. With Wednesday’s net, the total amount of cocaine seized as a result of the investigation is 376 kilos, with an estimated street value of $54.5 million.
According to the Toronto Star, the drugs were traced back to Guyana, from where the padded freight containers shipped out. The Star reported investigators as saying that the vessel in New Brunswick was confirmed to have been carrying 77-79 per cent pure cocaine, which was found inside boxes of hot sauce. They removed all but two kilos of the cocaine and performed a controlled delivery of the container to its original destination in Etobicoke. It was received by the owner of the company, Mahendrapaul Doodnauth, who unloaded the boxes at a rented storage facility on Rexdale Boulevard in Toronto. As a result, Doodnauth, of Toronto, was charged with importing cocaine, conspiracy to import cocaine and possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking.
On Wednesday, acting Police Commissioner Henry Greene told Stabroek News that while the local authorities are yet to contact Canada, they had identified a local suspect in connection with the first bust. He said while no arrest has been made, the police are looking for the man. When asked how the cocaine-laden cartons of pepper sauce could have left these shores when checks had to be made, he directed this newspaper to the Customs Anti- Narcotics Unit (CANU), with whom the police are collaborating. CANU officials were unavailable for comment.
Reports were that the shipment left Guyana and arrived in the country on board the Tropic Canada in Saint John, New Brunswick on Decem-ber 8. The freighter reportedly regularly transports goods between Saint John and the Caribbean.
Stabroek News contacted the Light House, which has a record of all ships entering and leaving Port Georgetown, and was told that the Tropic Canada never entered these waters.
However, knowledgeable persons in the shipping industry say that the shipment could have left aboard another ship, probably a smaller vessel, and then transferred to the Tropic Canada via another Caribbean country. If Tropic Canada had entered this country the Light House would have had a record of it. Greene confirmed that the shipment left Guyana but would not say by what means.
The major interceptions in Canada and the USVI would be seen as a major embarrassment for Guyana amid international concerns that it was not doing enough to stem the drug trade.
why the head of CANU still on the job where is the lie detector
machine that jagdeo had brought into the country, all of the ppp actions to the first head of CANU was a diverion to put in place one of their own to oversee CANU and to carry out the ppp wishes and their
supporters, imagine the president aint calling for a urgent inquiry
into the operations of CANU and the head, usa and canada needs to deploy military personnell in guyana urgently to stem the poison that
is coming out of guyana to kill americans and canadians this is an act
of terrorism against the usa and canada and needs to be stop, if the
govt.of guyana is not willing to stop it then the usa and canada should period. the govt.of guyana have to stop this lieing game about
resources to fight the drug cartels, why cant the govt.of guyana offer 50 million for the capture of guyana big cartels???, i am waiting for a reply from the govt.of guyana DIE HARD SUPPORTERS
Torbo we all want to see drugs eliminated, but there’s a demand for it in the u.s.a and canada and other parts of the world, so until that demand is no more available there would be no drugs to peddle, and the sad thing about it is the big honchos are people high up the ladder and can’t be touched this is in guyana, u.s.a, canada and elsewhere,where drugs is wrecking havoc, and the players are highly respect in the society whom we may all have admirations for them, drugs cannot be totally eliminated, but i think it can be controlled.
Guyana’s limited resources are for the development of the country if the Canadian and American citizens have a demand for nose candy, then there respective Govts. should on the frontline of this issue.
Well they already deployed their troops to “COLUMBIA” Origin of the COCAINE TRADE…ehm.ehm…ehm!!!!! “Let me clear my throat”!!!!
Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Torbo the place to redeploy troops to is “PLAN COLUMBIA”"
SN please print my full articles for this folly and blame game at Guyana is toooooooooo much. Amurikkka spends your tax dollars propping up a murderous narco regime in Columbia. Now torbo wants to send these same DEA criminals into Guyana.
TORBO…Why do you hate Guyana??????? Were you not born there????Or have you been assimilated to the oppressive and suppressive european pirate regimes???
Torbo read…read…read…and not SN alone.
Time to isolate Columbia and bring sanctions to bear on this criminal regime.
“Keep it “LIT”
.
The drug trade is indirectly keeping Guyana afloat, and I am of the opinion that the authorities in Guyana are fully aware of this. Cut this source of revenue out and choke them to death.
Fruits and vegetables, lumber and furniture, processed and canned food, and so on must be checked. Investors set up canning plants as a mere front and mean for pharmaceuticals to be shipped out.
RL
My question is why this is allowed to happen ,is it because our system is so corrupt that our law enforcement agencies would rather the drugs to be intecepted outside of Guyana ,where they are likely to get a conviction or they are also involved .
Pretty sure this suspect is cooperating ,there might be others shipment too destined for Europe and Asia. Common colleague get on the ball .
Wow some big fishes are swiming at the top of the alantic ocean, lets wait and see who are tha cohorts…..I think some more lie detector testing needs to be done lol wow
Finally we are seeing the true source of some of these fantastically gargantuan buildings climbing up in GT.
And of the Cadillacs parked around the place.
Poor GUyana? Yeah right.
Don’t talk too hard popeople you exposing the people’s business. How do you expect the economy to do well? We have floods annually affecting agriculture, a recession in the US afecting money transfers, “embattled businessmen” arrested in the US, come on now the big wheel needs to keep on turning ;)
It looks like no one is doing sh!! about the drug trade in Guyana, probally because some in power dipping their hands in the drugs/money pot. Thats why a lot of people getting rich in guyana (you buisness people :))
guyana in the making of history indeed.
We have to get to the source of these drug shipments. The question that need to answer is how does cocaine enter Guyana. We can assumed that it is coming thru illegal flights. So our Government needs to create a modern air tracking system. Until this is done, Guyana will continue to be a major trans shipment point. This is not only a Government problem it is a Canadian, American and British problem. Some of the money US DEA is providing to the Government of Columbia should be re-directed to fight the problem in Guyana.
Its also Guyana largest GDP.
Job of the Guyana Defense Forces the last time I checked.
Take the military and put them on the borders where they belong and let the police chief earn his pay. Oops!!!! I forgot he is acting chief of GPF.
I say right now there is a “State of Emergency” in GT’ Lock up de crooked cops like they are doing here in Jamaica and lock them up consistently without flinching. You also have to lock up some in the military.
That word “Guyana National Service” sounds soooooooo good right now.
I have a Vision of GT and it does not include cocaine or its pushers.
“Keep it “LIT”
It’s true about’their’ words – this is awe these time – when ‘they’ took over in 1992. They further brought shameness to Guyana.
When the news keep on bring up shameful news about Guyanese drug lords/peddelers, I said to my wife, when she told me that she was/is so shameful being an East Indian Guyanese, that it is an unfortunate thing because ‘they’ are doing the worst thing to the country – having being so critical about the former government.
My heart, as an original Guyanese,is crying because it is very much saddened by the way the land of my foreparents is destroyed physically/environmentally and other wise.
Nice going!!!