Political will to get rid of ‘sacred cows’, collaboration needed to dent drug scourge
– Ramjattan says as new master plan launched
The collaborative efforts of all stakeholders, scrutiny from international partners and the building of political will to tackle ‘sacred cows’ are necessary to win the ongoing war on drug use and drug trafficking, Minister of Public Security Khemraj Ramjattan said yesterday.
“It will take the efforts of not only law enforcement and ministers but also… activists, journalists, academics, writers, even screenwriters to portray to the public the harsh reality of the drug scourge,” he said, minutes before officially unveiling of the 2016-2020 National Drug Strategy Master Plan (NDSMP).
This plan was developed in response to recent national and international dynamics of the drug problem; it is a modification of the 20142018 NDSMP and complements the 2005-2009 plan.
Ramjattan told those gathered at the launching ceremony held at the Police Training Centre, Eve Leary that this plan is “our fresh approach to lick this scourge.”
He reasoned that in order to make the plan successful, “We will need to build the political will to ensure that there are no sacred cows in this war. Having studied the challenges of other countries, [they are] largely as a result of especially the political class creating sacred cows in certain companies and individuals….” Also important is the scrutiny from local and international organizations like the US’s Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and Interpol.
The 105-page plan, copies of which were later distributed to those gathered, said the review was led by the Ministry of Public Security in collaboration with key stakeholders including the Ministry of Public Health and the Ministry of Education.
“It is universally accepted that the drug problem encompasses domestic demand and international trafficking. These two aspects of the problem are however deeply intertwined and to counter one in isolation of the other is fundamentally flawed,” the plan said. It was announced that the entire plan was available on the Public Security Ministry’s website, but up to late last evening checks revealed that this was not the case.
It was stated that the government is committed to ensuring the sustained safety and security of citizens against the drug problem and this plan brings into focus all national concerns surrounding the problem.
This plan focuses mainly on demand reduction, supply reduction, control measures, institutional strengthening and policy coordination and international cooperation.
With regard to demand reduction, the plan said the goals are to improve and implement all-inclusive policies, encourage the integration of treatment and recovery programmes into the public health care system and address drug dependence as a chronic, non-communicable disease. Other aims are to expedite access for drug dependent persons to a system of drug treatment, rehabilitation, social integration and recovery services that are evidence based, as well as an explicit focus on youths in the national fight against drug use and abuse. Other goals outlined under the demand reduction heading are exploring the means of offering treatment, rehabilitation, social reinsertion and recovery support services to drug dependent criminal offenders as an alternative to criminal prosecution or imprisonment, promoting and strengthening training and continuing education of professionals and others involved in the implementation of demand reduction activities and emphasing the synchronization of its plans and policies with all other sub plans of the national strategy.
The plan also outlines a number of programmes and activities aimed at demand reduction. These include drug abuse prevention curriculum at primary, secondary and tertiary levels of education, training of individuals in counselling youths to resist the use of drugs and other substances, development of a media strategy to promote prevention of substance abuse awareness and the development of employee assistance programmes for workplaces.
There will also be focus on educating persons to reduce alcohol consumption, programmes to discourage tobacco smoking, establishment of new rehabilitation centres in each region and alternatives to incarceration which will be dealt with by drug treatment courts and which will encourage those charged with drug possession to undergo treatment.
With regard to supply reduction, the goals are to expand data collection and analysis mechanisms with a view of conducting assessments that will facilitate the development of public policies, implement comprehensive and balanced measures, and sponsor studies and research that contribute to the early identification and monitoring of new and emerging trends that could provide updated information on the supply of illicit drugs. The plan identified an increase of the number of undercover police to gather information about the drug market and to identify dealers, building capacity, strengthening border control and witness protection as some of the initiatives aimed at supply reduction. The plan also outlined goals and objectives for reducing the transshipment of drugs most of which deal with intelligence gathering, training and capacity building.
Under control measures, the plans outlined a number of objectives that could help cripple the flow of drugs.
With regard to institutional strengthening and police coordination, it pointed out that over time the anti-narcotics governance structure had deteriorated and triggered “a matching worsening of the drug problem and related crimes.”
And since the national countering drug structures will require significant consolidation to facilitate an effective anti-drug strategy, the National AntiNarcotics Agency (NANA), the National Drug Abuse Control Unit as a sister unit to the Joint Anti-Narcotics Law Enforcement Unit and NANA would be important additions.
Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum stated that at the commencement of the year, in keeping with operational priorities, the force “made a conscious effort to decentralize the narcotics branch.” Each police division is now equipped with full-time narcotics units, whose work is complemented by the newly established Divisional Intelligence Unit.
According to Blanhum, the force continues to build capacity and this is a main priority area, noting that ranks were exposed to both local and overseas training.
“As we all know, drug traffickers have mastered the art of networking. Thus it is imperative that law enforcement bodies... collaborate…,” he said.
Locally, the police collaborate with Customs Anti-Narcotic Unit (CANU), the Guyana Defence Force and the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) while at the regional level there is IMPACS, an intelligence mechanism that provides information about traffickers; internationally, police collaborate with Interpol, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Royal Canada Mounted Police and the DEA which now has an office in Guyana.
Counter narcotics operations include the recruitment of informants, intelligence-led operations, land, air and sea surveillance, establishment of checkpoints mainly in the interior regions, increased deployments at airports and seaports, sniffer dogs at the airports, stop and search operations, narcotics eradication, confiscation of the proceeds of crime and the occasional destruction of illegal airstrips.
He noted that the major challenges are Guyana’s porous borders and backtrack routes, corruption and collusion involving law enforcement officers and airport employees, lack of human, financial and technical resources and the backlog of court cases.
Head of CANU James Singh said there have been seizures of drugs destined for many parts of the world. In the United States based on purity and different grades, the price for marijuana and cocaine are between US$25,000 and US$40,000 per kilo, but in places like Africa and Thailand that cost would increase to around US$120,000, he said, noting that the price of drugs depends on the market, the route and the network being used.
He said CANU has noticed a trade between drug cartels, where a higher quality of marijuana is exchanged for cocaine.
Noting that CANU’s mandate is to seize narcotics, prosecute offenders, maintain an effective presence and collaborate, he stressed that countering narcotics trafficking is not a singular approach but one that requires local, international, private sector and community partnership.
“Some people believe that you are successful in fighting drugs when you seize a lot of drugs, we beg to differ. The whole idea is stopping the flow of drugs. The whole idea is getting people to go elsewhere, not to take advantage of a country like ours that some may say lacks the resources,” he said.
Fitzroy Corlette, who represented the GRA, said the Authority’s Drug Enforcement Unit is mandated to conduct anti-narcotics monitoring, surveillance and examination of goods prior to exportation. He shared photographs and information on some of the unit’s drug seizures.