Former Region One Police Commander named in US statement on cocaine transshipping
The former Region One Police Commander Himnauth Sawh, 37, was today named in a statement from the US Department of Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in relation to the transshipping of cocaine from Guyana to the US.
Sawh had been the commander of the region at the time 4.4 tonnes of cocaine valued €176 million was discovered last year September buried in bunkers. He was subsequently replaced as commander of the region and sent to head the Transport Workshop. The police force never provided an explanation.
The statement from OFAC also named Mark Cromwell known as `Demon’, 43; Paul Daby Jr, 39; Randolph Duncan, 55 and two Colombians.
The statement said that for decades Guyana has been a transshipment point for the movement of drugs from South America to the United States.
“Drug traffickers exploit the rivers and jungles of South America by transiting large quantities of cocaine, from Colombia and Venezuela, through the waters of Guyana and Suriname”, the release said.
According to OFAC, Guyana’s proximity to the Caribbean, “as well as reported corruption along its ports and borders”, enables maritime vessels also known as narco-submarines to move through its waters undetected.
It added that traffickers also arrange the importation of cocaine from Colombia and Venezuela to Guyana via small aircraft utilizing illegal airstrips in this country.
OFAC further noted that cocaine has been discovered buried in underground bunkers located on airstrips and in jungle territory. It said that the Barima-Waini region is a prominent location.
