No cocaine detected when rum shipment left Guyana for Netherlands
--GRA hints at possible tampering in Caribbean country
A container of rum from Guyana was intercepted in the Netherlands with more than 1,100 pounds of cocaine recently but the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) says that this container was scanned before it left Guyana and no drugs nor any other illegal or restricted substance were found onboard.
A statement from the GRA noted that the shipment was scanned in Guyana in accordance with stipulated procedures. Thereafter, the container then transited in another Caribbean territory.
According to the GRA, the container was offloaded in that country and remained for a period before it was loaded onto another vessel destined for the Netherlands. The discovery of the cocaine was made after the shipment arrived at the end of November.
An earlier press release from the Customs Anti- Narcotic Unit (CANU) also hinted at possible tampering of the shipment in the unnamed Caribbean territory. CANU said the shipment stayed in the Caribbean territory for five days.
Meanwhile, the GRA press release emphasised that it has instituted a system of rigid controls. This system, GRA said, limits the probability of narcotic substances being exported or transshipped through Guyana’s ports.
Further, GRA also said that this system process allows for simultaneous viewing of the scanned images by officers of the sister agencies, and backup checks thereafter prior to shipping.
Those images are stored and backed up at various sites thereby reducing the likelihood of a repeat of the deletion of images.
The press release stated that it will allow members of the media to view those images shortly and upon the official opening of the scanner, it will allow media representatives to view the scanning process.
Meanwhile, investigations into this massive drug bust continue.
