Authorities silent on UK cocaine timber find
Stabroek News
June 11, 2003
The various agencies in Guyana looking into how 120 kilos of cocaine concealed in a consignment of timber seized in the United Kingdom left undetected from Georgetown, remained silent yesterday about their inquiries.
The Head of the Customs and Trade Administration, Lambert Marks has refused to return calls from Stabroek News but he is known to have been in contact with the management of the wharf where the timber consignment was loaded. Seven men were arraigned in a Welsh court related to the interception of the drugs at the Suffolk port of Felixstowe.
Sources have confirmed that the vessel on which the consignment was loaded and shipped to the United Kingdom was the “EWL Venezuela”. However, the sources contend that the shipment in question was made some nine weeks ago and not as recently as May 29 as was announced by UK authorities.
Stabroek News was unable to reach Commissioner of Forests, James Singh whose agency would have licensed the consignment and whose officers would have checked to confirm that the consignment accorded with the licence in terms of quantity and the species stated.
Neither the Police nor the Ministry of Foreign Affairs through which the formal request for assistance would have been channelled have been approached for assistance by the British authorities in tracing the origin of the seized cocaine which has a street value of 8M pounds sterling or $1.9B.
Officials from both agencies told Stabroek News that they received no notification about the incident or a request for assistance.
Last month the government announced the acquisition of modern x-ray equipment for the airport after former Miss Guyana Universe Mia Rahaman was detained in Canada allegedly with a quantity of cocaine concealed in false sides of her luggage, which was screened at the Timehri airport.
Recently the GDFS Essequibo sailed from Guyana with a quantity of marijuana concealed on board even though it was searched by the GDF Coast Guard and would have been cleared by Customs before its departure.
