Two Corentyne businessmen, one of whom had been accused in the past of having connections with the drug trade, have been linked to the bulldozer which was found abandoned on an illegal airstrip discovered last week, 80 miles upriver from Orealla.
Police in Georgetown are also still holding three foreigners: two Colombians and a Venezuelan who were nabbed at a city hotel on Thursday afternoon in connection with the illegal airfield.
Stabroek News was told by a high-ranking military official yesterday that investigators have since been able to trace the bulldozer to a businessman who claims that he had sold the heavy-duty machine to another man. Cabinet Secretary, Dr Roger Luncheon told the media on Friday that the bulldozer might have been transported to the location on a barge. Luncheon said it was one of the angles investigators were looking at, adding that there is a huge trail from the river leading to a camp. He said the trail is very wide which suggested that it can accommodate the large equipment. A representative of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority had visited the area last week to inspect the burnt-out aircraft.
The Guyana Defence Force believes that the illegal airfield which its troops destroyed on Monday was being operated by foreigners with local collusion to facilitate trafficking of narcotics.
In a statement on Monday the GDF said the airstrip had a burnt-out aircraft with a Venezuelan flag on it, a still smouldering all-terrain vehicle and a bulldozer which was in the middle of the airstrip. The military said it is believed that the airstrip was constructed to facilitate transshipment of narcotics.
The airstrip was sighted last week Sunday during a routine flight by a GDF pilot who was flying lower than normal. The pilot, the military said, noticed the aircraft parked halfway up the airstrip and several persons clad in dark clothes emerging from the jungle. According to the GDF, the aircraft, a Let 410 turboprop that is manufactured by the Czech Republic, carried a Venezuelan flag and it appeared that it was severely damaged after attempting to take off.
The army said it is felt that the Czech-made aircraft was deliberately burnt sometime between last Sunday and Monday morning after those in the area had seen the aircraft over-flying the airstrip and had anticipated an interdiction operation. The GDF statement said there seemed to be extensive construction work at the airstrip since it is some 3600 feet in length, which is longer than the Ogle aerodrome, and 375 feet in width, wider than Timehri runway. However, only some 1,800 feet of it was usable and the construction seemed geared to upgrading the remainder of the airstrip. After seizing the airstrip GDF troops conducted several probing patrols and discovered a 25-ft trail that led for two miles to the Corentyne River, suggesting that the bulldozer and other equipment may have been transported via the river.
Drug operations
Meanwhile, in the wake of the discovery of the airstrip Corentyne residents are calling on the United States to do more to assist Guyana in fighting the narcotics trade. A resident who asked not to be named told this newspaper that “drug operations” are rampant in the area and that activities at the illegal airstrip have been going on for at least a year now. Residents also alleged that prominent businesspersons from the Crabwood Creek area are involved.
Residents who spoke to this newspaper said that police in the area are not doing enough and accused some of the lawmen of being in collusion with the drug dealers.
“The intelligence gathering needs to be boosted. If the joint services work honestly they could stamp out a lot of illegal operations,” one resident said.
Further, Stabroek News was told that persons would see the movements of aircraft when they go to drop off and pick up items but residents are sometimes afraid to speak out. “A lot of high-powered boats are also seen going into the area,” one resident said, adding that the border area is vulnerable to narcotics activities. The resident said that government should invest in a radar to track all illegal aircraft and boats. Stabroek News was told that the area where the airstrip was discovered is well protected by persons who carry high-powered weapons and who from time to time threaten and warn persons to keep off if they happen to go into the area to hunt or fish.
