Guyanese vessel busted in Ghana with cocaine

Guyanese vessel busted in Ghana with cocaine

 The Ghana News Agency announced on Wednesday that the Western Naval Command of Ghana arrested a foreign vessel carrying 21 bags of substances suspected to be cocaine on Tuesday, November 20.

The vessel, “ATIYAH, George-Town” is a Guyanese registered vessel which was travelling from Guyana. It was arrested and escorted by Ghana Naval Ship Yaa Asantewaa to the Sekondi Naval Base.

News Source understands that the vessel left Guyana On October 24, 2013 from Parika. It is unclear what checks were made before the vessel departed on that date.

Ghana media reports state that the five men on board the ship together with the substances have been flown by a military helicopter to the nation’s capital, Accra, for further investigation.

This is the third major bust of a drug laden vessel that would have left Guyana in the past three months. There were two busts in Jamaica.

The Ghana bust has raised new questions about security at the various ports across the country and whether adequate security checks are being made of vessels leaving Guyana.

The Customs Department of the Guyana Revenue Authority and the Coast Guard are expected to monitor vessels as they depart. The Customs Anti Narcotics Unit also plays a role.

There have been reports that the container scanner used by the Customs Department has not been fully functional for months and that may be one of the reasons why drug pushers easily get their pricy cargo through those checks.

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