A declaration of war
Editorial
THE vow by President Bharrat Jagdeo to put drugs dealers "out of business" in Guyana will be widely endorsed by those concerned at the terrible human tragedy the scourge is wreaking. Going after drugs dealers will be no easy task given the experiences in other countries riven by the highly-organised drugs rings. Guyana has not escaped the tentacles of the drugs barons and the easy riches associated with the trade have lured many into their rings. Once peaceful villages where the village drunks were usually the only addicts known for years are now hostage to youths hooked on crack cocaine and marijuana (ganja). Coming from a village himself, the President clearly knows of the dangers, reporting to a press conference last week that raids so far on known drugs houses have been conducted in the city and other places, including his home village of Unity, East Coast Demerara. Even the smallest child in some villages and wards in the city knows the drug houses, he said, declaring "it's time that we start putting them out of business...gathering our intelligence and going after them." Tales of woe and torment from particularly mothers are now common in courts with distraught parents begging magistrates to put away their sons who have become addicted to cocaine and ganja and steal from them to feed their habits. Drug addicts are also known to become violent and there have been several killings by young men gone berserk on drugs. There has to be an all out war against drugs and the most effective way of wiping out the scourge is to ensure that the barons cannot benefit from the wealth culled from the evil trade. In this regard, it is puzzling that the money laundering legislation drafted and contemplated for some time now is not yet in force. The authorities have complained that they need the backing provided in the money laundering legislation to give their fight real teeth and to go after the real culprits - not the petty pushers and addicts. The announcement by the President of the establishment of the special task force comprising personnel and resources from the Police Force and the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU), to put drug traffickers out of business, is another step in the right direction. But the law enforcement agencies need the tools with which to work and they say the money laundering legislation is critical. Mr Jagdeo acknowledged that the money laundering bill was critical to tracking down financial flows from barons and it is expected that enacting it will be speeded up. The tentacles of the drugs rings are already well-entrenched around the country, wreaking havoc mainly among young men and the evil has to be rooted out. The war against drugs must be stepped up.
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