On the heels of the massive 4.4 tonne cocaine find at Matthew’s Ridge in Region One, Guyana’s Minister of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn, has issued a stern warning to drug pushers and drug traffickers.

“We will stay on this, And we want to warn those who are engaged in it to desist, because we will be coming after them”, the Minister said.

Benn was at the scene of an operation close to an illegal airstrip at Matthew’s Ridge where the large amount of cocaine was discovered buried. The cocaine carries a street value of almost US$200 Million. Investigations are ongoing into the discovery.

The operation was led by the Customs Anti Narcotics Unit, with support from other agencies.

The Home Affairs Minister said residents in far flung communities, like Matthew’s Ridge, need to speak out and contact the authorities when they notice illegal activities taking place in their communities.

He said “we want to advise people, who are in the areas and in the environment, out here and they may be aware that things are happening, and don’t want to say it, but they need to say it to save our country and to improve our security and to save our societies in respect of the drug fight”.

Minister Benn noted that drug trafficking is linked to other transnational crimes that could impact communities and the country. He said it is important for support to be offered to the agencies leading the fight against narco trafficking.

“We of course buoyed by this success, will be doing everything we can to push our efforts to interdict and to prevent drugs to be smuggled, over on or through our maritime space”, the Home Affairs Minister told journalists.

He said Guyana will continue the fight against drug trafficking, while admitting that the country does not have all of the required resources for the fight.

The Government has been increasing the budgetary allocations to the security forces over the years. The Customs Anti Narcotics Unit has been on the forefront of the drug fight, and has been working along with the Police, the GDF and its international partners on intelligence gathering and other drug fighting efforts.

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