Maintaining the fight against the drug barons
Guyana Chronicle
August 4, 2004
THE announcement last week in a joint statement by the Police Force and the Customs and Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) that they are moving to smash drug rings operating here with help from United States and British agencies, gave little in the way of fresh sorties against the local drug barons.
The statement amounted to mainly updates on investigations here on several major drug interceptions overseas in the past 18 months with the assurance that “CANU and the Guyana Police Force have been making strenuous efforts towards dismantling drug operations in Guyana”.
There was hitherto little information about these “strenuous efforts” by the local law enforcement agencies against the drug rings that have been creating havoc with the lives of ordinary people in this country.
The drug trade is spreading and more and more young people are being snared in the addiction web the unscrupulous barons spin to anchor their local operations.
Several recent killings have the trademarks of inter-gang rivalries and people not in any way linked to this nefarious trade can be caught in the vicious crossfire.
The rings pose a threat to the welfare of citizens and to national security and this is why, more than anything else, the authorities here must begin to exercise zero tolerance for those involved with the drug trade.
While we welcome last week’s joint statement and updates from CANU and the police, a more morale-boosting move would be regular word from them about fresh inroads into the dismantling of the drug rings based here.
Breaking news about the arrest of dealers and interception of major cocaine shipments with local connections all too often come from the anti-drug agencies and news media in other countries.
Related news here has in recent times mostly been about the arrest of mules caught at the airport, young men hauled in for smoking spiffs and joints and police raids on marijuana fields.
These are the small fry, the small fish, and their snaring creates mere ripples when what the public is seeking is the netting of the big fishes, the big sharks.
It’s not easy to net the barons given the vast financial and other resources they have access to and the sweeping nature of their operations.
Poor countries like Guyana, with handicaps like lack of human and other resources, depend heavily on inputs from far better equipped agencies in the United States, the United Kingdom and other developed countries.
It is in the interest of these developed countries to help block the flow of drugs from source and in-transit countries to their vast markets.
But, because of the dire consequences, particularly among the vulnerable young, countries like Guyana have to be in the forefront in carrying the fight to the drug rings.
The safety and peace of mind of their citizens, and national security, are involved.
There is too much at stake for this issue to be treated as more of a matter for the Americans and the British.
There are already too many drug addicts on the streets of Georgetown and in the rural areas and too many precious lives are being wasted because of the deadly trade.
There can be no let up in the fight against the drug lords.