On the eve of his departure from Guyana, outgoing U.S Ambassdor Perry Holloway on Friday revealed that the US Government, through its Drug Enforcement Agency, will be going after more Guyanese narco traffickers in the coming years, with a plan to seek their extradition.

Mr. Holloway appeared on the 94.1 FM radio show “JumpStart” on Friday morning and explained that the DEA only works on drug trafficking cases with direct links to the United States, and he has no doubt that there will be a move in the coming years to seek the extradition of Guyanese nationals who are involved in the narco trade.

“I have do doubt that in the next couple of years, we will probably be requesting a number of Guyanese narco traffickers to be extradited to the US. But I can’t say when, can’t say who, but these guys have a lot of money, they don’t play by the rules, they’re very motivated, so they’re a tough opponent to go against, but I know the men and women of the GPF and CANU are up to the task and we are going to continue to provide assistance and training”, Mr. Holloway said.

Just last week, well known Guyanese hotel owner, Shervington “Big Head” Lovell, was extradited to the United States from Jamaica. He was arrested in Jamaica just after arriving on a flight from Guyana back in October. He is now facing multiple drug trafficking charges in the United States.

His arrest was part of an operation that involved drug enforcement organisations from Guyana, Jamaica, Colombia, the US and others.

Questioned about that operation, Mr. Holloway said “these type of operations, when you go after the bigger fish, it normally requires many government agencies, like CANU, like GPF, the DEA providing information and assistance and it also requires many countries because transnational crime, of which drug trafficking is a major one, doesn’t recognise borders. So one of the reasons this occurred in Jamaica is because there were a number of guys that were going to be in Jamaica at the same time and you may know that three were actually arrested, and at least two of the three have been extradited to the United States, Mr. “Big Head”, as many people call him here in Guyana, and also a Colombian”.

Outgoing US Ambassador Perry Holloway

He noted that the extradition treaty between Guyana and the US is a valid one and while he would like to see it reformed, it remains valid and both Guyana and the US could utilize it soon.

The US Drug Enforcement Agency officially set up its office in Guyana back in 2016. That office is based within the US Embassy.

The Ambassador said that moving forward, he believes that the office of the DEA in Guyana will be expanded, as the agency continues to work with the Customs Anti Narcotics Unit and the Guyana Police Force. He said there will be more positive developments in the fight against narco trafficking in Guyana in the future and noted that the U.S Government will continue to assist in that fight.

Top Photo: Shervington “Big Head” Lovell 

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