In September 2003, two years after they began surveillance of a cocaine operation, officers of the United Kingdom’s Scotland Yard swept through some 20-odd residences in various sections of London and made several arrests. Simultaneously, having been fed with information by Scotland Yard, police in Colombia were also raiding addresses and making arrests. At the end of the day, Scotland Yard said they had smashed the largest cocaine and money laundering ring in the UK to date. And more than that, they had ensured that the foreign suppliers of the ring were also behind bars.
That event, though highly successful, was not the end of cocaine smuggling and money laundering in the UK, but it was enough to put a huge dent in the operation. The UK’s finest had bided their time; conducted daily surveillance of their targets without being seen and without the details of their operation being leaked to the smugglers. Scotland Yard officers were even privy to the bad guys’ accounts, noting that for the last six months of their surveillance, the smugglers netted 100 million pounds sterling. But they waited until they had all their ducks in a row before striking.
There was nothing particularly remarkable about that operation; not by international standards anyhow. Scores of similar stings are undertaken annually by Scotland Yard officers and their peers in other countries in Europe as well as in the USA and Canada. It is a feat, however, that Guyana’s finest may never emulate or at least not any time soon. It is hard to imagine local police shadowing anyone for two months, let alone two years, without it getting out. Secrets are hard to keep in this society.
That is not to say, however, that the police cannot and have not done sting operations. It just seems their process is selective and sometimes so slow, it comes after the fact. For instance, could there be any good reason why the police have not yet disbanded the ‘Thieving Bridge Gun and Bicycle Gang’ who have been preying on residents of Laing Avenue and West Ruimveldt for months now? Reports have been made to the police and an extensive story was carried in this newspaper. Days later, there was yet another attack. How difficult would it have been for the police to send one of their own as a decoy and have others standing by concealed to make the arrests? This could have happened/should have happened a long time ago. It’s not rocket science. A police patrol would not work because the bandits would simply make themselves scarce and then reappear when the patrol is deployed elsewhere. Are the police only going to act after the bandits have wounded, maimed or killed someone?
This lackadaisical attitude does not only attend the police; it is way too prevalent in many spheres of Guyanese life. Take for example the current brouhaha over the Stabroek Market Square. There was a time, observers say, when only buses were allowed to park immediately opposite the market; it was the terminal for some public (government) transport buses and there was a small terminal building. After the decline of that transportation system, vendors began to take over the area and they should have been stopped or limited to allow for order to prevail. But no, successive administrations chose to ignore the issue, and City Hall caved in by giving way too many persons permission to sell there – hence the disorder. Attempts made – years after the fact – to regularize vending in that general area have consistently failed.
Last Wednesday, after a grenade exploded in that general area, Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee was quoted as saying at the scene: “We all know, and we have been saying this time and time again this Stabroek Market area is a haven for all kinds of illegal activities everybody has been saying so. So much so that recently the police have been carrying out campaigns on Saturday nights… So I don’t think we need to speculate on this right now but there are things we have been talking about going on around Stabroek Market…”
All of this knowledge and yet all that was being done was “campaigns on Saturday nights.” News flash, Mr Rohee, after the first two campaigns, those carrying out the “illegal activities” knew what to expect. They more than likely moved their business to a week night, Sunday night, or daytime hours instead.
So today, Peter is paying for Paul, etc. Instead of the illegality being stamped out, everyone gets moved in one fell swoop. Hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on concrete stalls, fixtures and fittings, gone. Bewildered stallholders must wait to hear what’s next; after the fact. Only in Guyana, eh?
