While reports have surfaced about a special operation by the Special Organised Crime Unit of the Guyana Police Force that resulteed in a multi-million dollar gold seizure and confiscation of millions of dollars in cash, the Guyana Police Force is still to issue an official statement on the operation, which reportedly took place in Bartica on Tuesday.

According to reports, the operation was led by SOCU and resulted in the arrests of three businessmen, and the seizure of over $100 million worth of raw gold and $32 million in cash.

It is reported that the gold was not declared to the Guyana Gold Board or any of the authorized agents, triggering the arrests and confiscation.

The three men who were arrested by SOCU were reportedly under surveillance for several months by local law enforcement and international law enforcement agencies probing an international gold trading ring. SOCU has been looking at the alleged links of the businessmen arrested and some of their international trading partners.

The operation has been touted as part of a comprehensive national strategy aimed at dismantling criminal networks involved in gold smuggling and organised crime.

It is unclear whether the three men arrested are still in custody as the Guyana Police Force remains mum on the arrests and the investigations. The Police Public Relations Office has indicted that it is still awaiting information on the operation.

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