Several Guyanese nabbed in international drug operation

Last Updated on Saturday, 26 December 2015, 21:00 by GxMedia

An international operation has resulted in the interception of a Guyanese trawler with a large quantity of marijuana and the arrest of six Guyanese and one Surinamese, well-placed sources said Friday.

The trawler, Kaminey, was arrested in international waters through cooperation among United States, British and Guyanese agencies last weekend. The identities of the men are unlikely to be released before they are arraigned.

Guyanese authorities received information that ‘Kaminey’ was returning to Guyana from either Jamaica or Haiti when it was intercepted in international waters off the coast of Venezuela.

The operation was done under the umbrella of the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI).

Sources said it is more advantageous to nab vessels in international waters and have the occupants prosecuted in the United States, for instance, where the chances of all of them being sentenced to very long prison terms are greater.

Trends show that Guyanese-registered vessels carrying marijuana and cocaine are being intercepted in international waters and the occupants successfully prosecuted in other countries.

Two Guyanese -Yugool Persaud,61, and 54-year old Desmond Wilson- were convicted in a US court last November for the smuggling of 1,265 kilogrammes of marijuana aboard the MV Miss Tiffany in September.

Last month, five Guyanese pleaded guilty in  a Ghanian court to the importation of 400 kilogrammes of cocaine worth US$50 million, The drug was found aboard the Guyanese
Atiyah Ex Alisam in late November.