Belgium cocaine ‘bust’ puts halt on scrap-metal trade here

THE Guyana government has put a halt to the scrap-metal trade until there is policy reform to properly monitor the sector.
This decision was taken in the aftermath of a massive drug “bust” found in a container of scrap iron metal which was shipped from Guyana to Belgium earlier this month.

“I had a meeting with some scrap-metal traders last week who were anxious to get back into business and I said we couldn’t support that position because new protocols have to be put into place and some joint arrangements must come into place between the [Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit], [Guyana Revenue Authority] and others in respect to the surveillance and packing of the containers and the movement of the containers from the place of scanning to the port where they are loaded onto the vessels,” Minister of Home Affairs Robeson Benn told reporters on the sidelines of an event on Monday.

A number of exporters are suffering as investigators continue the search for local shipper Marlon Primo, who remains in hiding and is considered the main suspect in the drug “bust.”
The CANU has intensified the hunt for Primo as investigations continue into how 11.5 tonnes of cocaine managed to leave the ports of Guyana undetected and made it all the way to Belgium.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Belgian police and CANU are working closely to find Primo.
During the investigation, detectives discovered that the scanned images of the shipping containers, which was conducted by customs officers of the GRA, were deleted from the system.

These images could not be retrieved after three GRA officers, including the one whose signature appeared on the documents, were taken into custody and questioned extensively.

But after experts were unsuccessful in recovering the deleted scanned images, CANU had to release all the suspects, including a broker.
The four containers reportedly left Guyana on September 25 and were shipped by Primo’s MA Trading of Atlantic Ville, East Coast Demerara, to the consignee, Lotraco Recycling BV, in the Netherlands.

Primo is suspected to have fled to neighbouring Suriname. The CANU will be offering Primo protection and security, since he has expressed fear for his safety.

His last known addresses are 701, Cummings Lodge, East Coast Demerara (ECD) and 69 Atlantic Ville, ECD
The 11.5 tonnes of cocaine was neatly packed into a safe inside the container, which was then covered with scrap metal.