`Guyana not identified as drug trans-shipment point’
- Luncheon
Guyana Chronicle
March 7, 2004
`We feel that our efforts, particularly because they have not been supported to any great extent by public funding, have been successful in preventing Guyana from being identified as a major source of trans-shipment of drugs.’ – Dr Roger Luncheon
(GINA) - GUYANA’S role in the international drug trade has come into sharp focus and is under the scrutiny of the United States Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), but Government continues to participate in a number of initiatives aimed at combating the drug scourge.
Over the last few months, the DEA and other anti-narcotics agencies in the US have intercepted shipments of illicit drugs, transported both by air and sea, and a number of Guyanese have been implicated.
Recognising the potentially negative effects this trend could have on Guyana's image, Government has put a number of anti-narcotics measures in place to stem the supply and trafficking trade.
At last week's post-Cabinet media briefing, Cabinet Secretary, Dr. Roger Luncheon maintained that the administration has signed significant anti-supply interventions, and agreements pertaining to demand reduction.
"Most of the country's drug combat money is spent on the anti-supply side, towards interdiction of the drug movement," said the Head of the Presidential Secretariat.
In response to questions surrounding international reports of Guyana's involvement in the drug trade, Dr. Luncheon said, "We feel that our efforts, particularly because they have not been supported to any great extent by public funding, have been successful in preventing Guyana from being identified as a major source of trans-shipment of drugs."
Apart from implicating the country, unofficial reports surfacing overseas also allege the involvement of high officials, but to this Dr. Luncheon said: "We continue to hear allegations and suspicions, but our efforts in prevention and interdiction have paid a good price."
He reiterated that against the backdrop of these efforts, there is no "sustainable evidence" that allows Guyana to be "identified positively" as a drug trans-shipment point.