The convictions secured against two of the accused in the cocaine in fish glue case constitute a small but important victory in the struggle against the drug trade. Typically small-time pushers, ganja users and mules are the only ones who have been convicted and sentenced to jail time.
In this case, the convicting of Chandrika Chattergoon and Vishnu Bridgelall represents a strike higher up the chain of the drug trade. Chattergoon had pled guilty when the four accused first appeared in the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court in an apparent attempt to take the rap for the other three. He was sentenced to four years jail on each of two drug counts to run consecutively while the other three were remanded and the case transferred to the Vigilance Magistrate’s Court.
While there had been arguments by the defence that the case should be discontinued because Chattergoon had pleaded guilty and there had been no incrimination of the others, the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) prosecutor persevered and succeeded when the magistrate handed down a stiff sentence against Bridgelall – 10 years in jail and a fine of $254M – and by so doing sent a serious warning to those engaged in the trade. The other two accused were freed.
Based on the case presented in court by the prosecution, the accused on the day in question had been involved in the processing of cocaine preparatory to its export from Guyana in fish glue. The export of cocaine from Guyana in a variety of local products and ways has never been in doubt. However, convicting those involved has been fraught with difficulty and convictions have been few and far between.
In this case, CANU officers raided a house in Enterprise where they found the four accused. During a search of the premises 86.5 kg of cocaine was found and an additional 20 kg was discovered hidden in the fish glue. The police also found a quantity of scissors, rolling pins, knives, a gas cylinder and the mesh on which the fish glue was placed to dry. This was a definite sign that a cottage industry-type cocaine processing operation was taking place. There have been other interceptions here of fish stuffed with cocaine and it has begged the question of why the police and CANU have been unable to intercept and dismantle these operations and others. In this case, CANU succeeded in detecting the operations, catching some of the operators in the act and securing convictions and jail time against two of the accused. This is therefore a significant win for CANU which it must build on.
It is an example the police force should take to heart. Despite the signs around that repackaging and transshipping of cocaine is taking place here, the police force has failed to make the required inroads in the drug trade and to secure convictions in court whenever arrests are made. It is hoped that under the nascent drug master plan and forthcoming security assistance from the UK government that the campaign against the drug trade would be better integrated and focused. The division of responsibilities for the drug trade between the police and CANU has never been satisfactorily explained or defended and needs to be revisited.
While CANU seemed to have gathered perfect intelligence on the Enterprise operation, the security forces have generally been unable to tap the requisite intelligence streams and this may in a way explain CANU’s success, as concerns have been raised about the leakage of information supplied by members of the public to the police.
Generally, the police have to raise the level of their performance both in terms of operational planning, enforcement and consistency. The force’s response to the recent public outcry over traffic deaths will be tested. The flurry of publicity from the police over the new fines implemented by the force and the number of cases made out against errant drivers translates into very little. The key traffic problems at the moment are speeding, driving under the influence of alcohol and the recklessness that engulfs the mini-bus industry. None of these has been tackled in any comprehensive, formalized way. What the police and the Home Affairs Ministry have done is to try to impress an increasingly skeptical public that the traffic problem is being addressed. The speeding continues, the driving under the influence continues and inevitably the deaths continue.
Perhaps the CANU victory in the fish glue case can encourage the police to understand that results are needed across the board: the drug trade, the traffic carnage, illegal guns, etc. Leave the trimmings and window dressing for the Christmas celebrations.
