Guyana’s cocaine seizures up by nearly 800% – President

Local authorities have intensified their collaboration with foreign counterparts to crack down on drug and gun trafficking and Guyana’s President, Dr. Irfaan Ali, Thursday said there are tangible results to show.

At a press conference, the President said cocaine seizures over the past year increased by a massive 797 per cent; the cocaine seized has a value of about US$3 million (or about GY$628.9 million).

“We’ve had many joint intelligence and operation-led initiatives, inter-agency cooperation, and as a result of this, we have seen a significant increase in cocaine seizures,” the President said.

Furthermore, he noted that marijuana seizures have gone up by 11.2 percent. The marijuana seized has a street value of about US$2.1 million (or about GY$440.2 million).

Marijuana and cocaine are often the more prevalent narcotics trafficked, but President Ali said the government is now increasing its focus on other drugs being imported. There is a focus on stopping the importation of guns illegally.

In particular, Dr. Ali said the local authorities are working alongside their US counterparts to disallow shipments of arms and drugs to Guyana.