Drug traffickers are able to conduct operations here without significant interference from law enforcement agencies with counternarcotics activities last year challenged by the consistently marginal commitment and capacity at all levels of government, despite some achievements late in the year, the United States has said.
In its 2011 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report to the US Congress, the US State Department said that Guyana is a transshipment point for cocaine from Colombia and Venezuela destined for North America, Europe, and the Caribbean.
The report released earlier today has been of annual interest particularly since several years ago it named Roger Khan as a known drug trafficker. It was that naming of Khan that triggered a sequence of event that led to his arrest in Suriname and his subsequent handing over to US authorities.
“Generally, small aircraft transporting cocaine land at remote airstrips in Guyana’s unpopulated interior highlands or coastal savanna regions to refuel and continue on to offshore destinations”, the report said.
“Due to weak land and maritime border controls and the vast unpatrolled interior, drug traffickers are able to conduct operations without significant interference from law enforcement agencies. The ability to detect drug shipments has received some recent investment, but a lack of focused interdiction operations and the capacity to monitor and control its expansive borders hinder enforcement of anti-trafficking laws”, it added.
“Overall, Guyana’s counternarcotics 2010 activities were challenged by the consistently marginal commitment and capacity at all levels of government, despite some achievements late in the year. Movements to modernize a colonial-era legal system based on English common law often stall or lack priority”, the report said.
The US said too that although, law enforcement agencies lack adequate government support and face perpetual personnel, training and budgetary challenges that undermine effective or sustained counternarcotics operations, there were some notable actions taken last year. It cited the March 2010 destruction of 10 marijuana fields by the police with support from a GDF helicopter along the Berbice River. The GPF burnt 28,000 plants weighing approximately 22 metric tons, as well as, 45,000 two-inch plants that were found in 15 nurseries. This seizure was the largest of three separate raids over a two week period that also netted additional marijuana, drug equipment and arrests, the report said.
It noted that Guyana’s 2005-2009 National Drug Strategy Master Plan (NDSMP) expired last year and it achieved few of its original goals.
Citing some figures for drugs seized or intercepted it noted that the amount of marijuana seized increased sharply. The amount of heroin seized in 2010 was approximately 1.2 kilograms compared to two kilograms of heroin seized in 2009. “These figures, however, likely represent only a fraction of the drugs trafficked through Guyana”, it said.
It pointed out that the number of criminal charges filed against individuals for activities related to the trafficking or distribution of illicit drugs for 2010 was 683; there were 648 such charges in 2009 and 473 in 2008.
Further, the report said, currently, there are no routine patrols of the numerous land entry points on the 1,800 miles of border with Venezuela, Brazil, and Suriname. While operating at the international airport, the GPF Narcotics Branch and CANU have engaged in the occasional arrest of low level drug couriers, who carry only small amounts of crack or powder cocaine, and marijuana. Much larger quantities seized in North American airports of cocaine coming from Guyana demonstrate lack of detection capability, it said.
According to the US, while the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) supports law enforcement agencies, its Coast Guard’s lone offshore patrol boat was in dry dock undergoing repairs for the majority of the year, and therefore was unable to carry out offshore drug patrols or interdictions. However, smaller patrol vessels do conduct patrols along the coast and inland waterways.
Ecstasy
The US said that the most commonly used drug in Guyana is marijuana, followed closely by cocaine and Ecstasy is becoming more prominent, although its use is still low. “Marijuana continues to be the most common drug used by Guyanese. Marijuana is sold and consumed openly in Guyana, despite frequent arrests for possession of small amounts of cannabis. Evidence points to high quality marijuana originating in Jamaica ending up in Guyana”, it said.
“Crack cocaine is becoming more popular, and is quite affordable, costing as little as fifty cents per dose. The prevalence of ecstasy has increased greatly in the past year, although it remains a minor drug. There is also a significant link between the drug problem in Guyana and HIV, with a significant number of addicts testing positive for the disease. The number of addicts has remained steady, but there has been a trend of younger people becoming addicted to drugs”, it added.
The report noted that Guyana’s ability to deal with drug abusers is impeded by the modest financial resources available to support rehabilitation programs. Guyana only has two residential facilities that treat substance abuse: the Salvation Army and the Phoenix Recovery Centre. Both are partially funded by the government, but they have budgetary constraints and often rely on donations from addict’s families to stay open, it said.
Meanwhile, the report noted that the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Act (AMLCFTA), the Interception of Communications Bill, and the Criminal Procedure Bill were designed to enhance both the investigative capability of law enforcement authorities and prosecutors’ ability to obtain convictions in drug related cases were signed into law in 2008.
“To the government’s credit, the AMLCFTA was used in 2010 in court proceedings, when Guyanese authorities obtained a conviction of a Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) employee in its first case under the Act. The case was prosecuted with significant cooperation provided by the United Kingdom (UK). Guyanese authorities have not yet handled a money laundering case from start to finish on their own, however”, it said.
The report said that as a matter of policy, the Government of Guyana does not encourage or facilitate the illicit production or distribution of narcotic or psychotropic drugs or other controlled substances, or the laundering of proceeds from illegal drug transactions. News media, however, routinely report on alleged instances of corruption; some reports implicated police personally retaining drugs from seizures while others point to high government officials that are not investigated and thus go unpunished, it said.
It noted that Guyana is party to the Inter-American Convention Against Corruption (IACAC), but has yet to fully implement its provisions, such as seizure of property obtained through corruption.
The US said that it looks forward to collaborating with Guyanese law enforcement to test the amended extradition law and emphasize the need for vigorous enforcement of laws against money laundering and financial crimes. It said that the execution of joint operations through task forces to accomplish complex raids and seize record amounts of marijuana signal a stronger commitment to the counternarcotics mission and the rule of law.
