The Customs Anti Narcotics Unit is working along with the Guyana Rice Development Board and the Guyana Revenue Authority as it probes the 1.5 tonne drug bust in Germany in a shipment of rice from Guyana.
Today, the Deputy Head of CANU, Lesley Ramlall explained that the probe has so far identified the date the shipment left Guyana and the stops made before the shipment eventually reached Germany.
While not divulging additional details, Mr. Ramall explained that the shipment was offloaded in another country and stayed in that country for six days before being loaded on another ship for the final trip to Hamburg Germany.
He said part of the probe is also looking to see whether the narcotics was loaded in Guyana or at the other port before the shipment went on to Germany.
“1.5 tonnes of narcotics is quite a lot and the street value locally would be about 1.6 billion Guyana dollars and so to move that amount and based on what we know here, that would be quite a challenge and a lot of coordination but we are looking at all angles”, Ramlall said.
The rice shipment left Guyana on the 25th May. The CANU Deputy Head said it is unclear whether surveillance recordings exist dating back to that period.
He also said it is also unclear whether the container with the rice was scanned before the shipment left Guyana. All of that will form part of the investigation.
The bust was made in Hamburg Germany on Monday as the authorities there followed up on a tip received from an anonymous source. The cocaine bust is considered one of the largest to take place in Germany in recent time. The shipment was expected to go on to Poland as its final destination.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login