Inquiry clears CANU of Dataram corruption claims, Granger says

Friday, July 22

The inquiry into corruption allegations against the Customs Anti-Narcotic Unit (CANU), which were made by self-confessed drug dealer Barry Dataram, found that they had no merit but was helpful in identifying areas within the drug fighting structure which needed attention, President David Granger disclosed today. Granger made the disclosure during a recording of the ‘Public Interest’ interview programme, which was released today ahead of tomorrow’s broadcast. During an interview with HGPTV Channel 67’s Nightly News in February, Dataram said CANU was corrupt and implicated a high ranking CANU official in the drug trade, while claiming that the official would take as much as $10 million to allow cocaine to leave the country.

“As far as the specific allegation is concerned, the commission found that they were without merit but he did discover other weaknesses or deficiencies in our anti-narcotics programme. For example, there is not enough funding, there is not sufficient equipment,” Granger said, when asked about the findings of the inquiry, which was conducted by Brigadier (Rtd) Bruce Lovell. The final report was handed over to Minister of State Joseph Harmon on July 8 but has yet to be released to the public.