Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee said CANU’s efforts at tackling drug trafficking, over the last 14 years is invaluable, at a function held in honour of the organization’s anniversary.
In his address the minister said the Customs Anti-Narcotic Unit (CANU) was created at a time when the transshipment of narcotic drugs through Guyana tended to overwhelm law enforcement agencies. Over time it increased its presence countrywide at important air and sea ports, urban and rural areas such as in the North West District, Pomeroon River, Essequibo Coast, Lethem on the Guyana/Brazil Border and at Moleson Creek, Corentyne which stymied the efforts of some traffickers. According to a Government Information Agency (GINA) press release CANU also carries out operations at post offices and at the homes of suspected drug dealers.
Rohee told his audience that while CANU is the youngest law enforcement agency, operating under a mandate to detect, prevent, detain/and or seize illicit drugs and persons entering/leaving Guyana, it has displayed accelerated maturity in the successes achieved with limited resources at its disposal. “This was most notable with the apprehension of 6,940 pounds of cocaine, valued at US$288 million on the MV Danielsen in October of 1998,” Rohee said.
The minister noted that over the years, government has provided the necessary financial resources to pursue CANU’s mandate and its implementation has varied. To this end, he said CANU officers must remember that the people of Guyana trust them and are confident that they will vigorously pursue and prosecute drug traffickers wherever and whenever the evidence may lead. Rohee then urged the management of CANU to upgrade its capacity for greater success in investigations, intelligence, money laundering, electronic surveillance, airport and seaport interdictions, weapons training, boarding of vessels, identification and field testing of narcotic substances, and training in the use of canine to detect the presence of illicit drugs.
Rohee also acknowledged that CANU’s full potential and scope is still unrealised and those deficiencies are currently being addressed. He said there are a number of long-term goals for the organization which has the potential to become a National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, commanding the respect of other law enforcement agencies in Guyana, Caricom and further afield.
