Retired Major General Michael Atherly to head National Anti-Narcotics Agency

The National Anti Narcotics Agency is expected to spearhead the security forces fight against the narco trade in Guyana while formulating new strategies and working closely with other international drug enforcement agencies.

Retired Major General Michael Atherly to head National Anti-Narcotics Agency

President David Granger has picked retired Major General Michael Atherly to head the new National Anti Narcotics Unit.

Mr. Atherly who retired as Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force back in 2004 currently serves as the Head of the Task Force on Drug Trafficking that is based at the Ministry of Public Security.

He has been in that post for a number of years.

The National Anti Narcotics Agency is expected to spearhead the security forces fight against the narco trade in Guyana while formulating new strategies and working closely with other international drug enforcement agencies.

Speaking to members of the media on Wednesday afternoon, President Granger said he chose Atherly for the job because he was already in a position that was looking at issues related to countering the narco trade.

“We felt that he was the fittest person to examine the National Drug Strategy Master Plan, which we inherited from the PPP administration and which was never implemented, but that plan is going to be modified and we are looking at the architecture and we expect by the middle of December, that National Drug Strategy Master Plan, which Major General Atherly is working on at present, will be able to bring the scourge of narco trafficking under control”, the President said.

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The President has made it clear that his government intends to tackle the drug trafficking problem head on since it is believed to be linked to several other criminal enterprises in the country.

The new agency will bring together the work of the Customs Anti Narcotics Unit and the Narcotics Branch of the Guyana Police Force. However, those two agencies are still expected to carry out their independent work.

As Guyana steps up its drug fighting efforts, the United States Ambassador has indicated that the DEA office in Guyana will be permanently staffed by January 2016.

Guyana remains a drug transshipment point for cocaine heading to Europe and North America from drug barons in South America.

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