More than 5000 pounds of cocaine was found in a self-propelled semi submersible vessel off the coast of Guyana during a joint operation on the 21st March.
The joint operation brought together the Guyana Country office of the US Drug Enforcement Agency, the Joint Interagency Task Force South, Guyana’s Customs Anti Narcotics unit and the US Coast Guard.
In a statement today, the US Embassy in Georgetown said the semi-submersible vessel was located just 150 miles off the coast of Guyana carrying 5, 214 pounds of cocaine.
It was explained that the U.S. Navy’s guided missile cruiser USS Leyte Gulf interdicted the vessel, resulting in the arrest of four individuals and seizure of the cocaine.
This landmark semi-submersible vessel seizure will be prosecuted in the United States, the agency said. The names of those arrested have not been released. News Source has since learnt that those arrested are linked to drug operations in Europe and South America and are not Guyanese nationals.
Contacted by News Source, Director of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit, James Singh, would only say that the investigation remains active as cooperation continues between CANU and the other international agencies.
The US Embassy said the U.S. government remains committed to its support of the Government of Guyana and its Caribbean partners in developing ever-greater capacity to disrupt illicit trafficking and transnational crime to advance citizen security.
Just this past weekend, CANU and Guyana Coast Guard ranks conducting an operation in the Essequibo region were able to intercept a Go-Fast boat, which was found with just over 1,100 pounds of cocaine. Two Venezuelan men, who were found on the boat with the illegal drugs, have since been charged for that drug shipment.
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