Head of Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit, James Singh was sacked by the David Granger administration days after a Commission of Inquiry report into a Vessel was completed and its recommendations handed over to the President.
This disclosure was made by Minister of State Joseph Harmon at his Post-Cabinet Press Briefing today. Harmon posited that the Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan was given some guidelines by the President to convey to the long-serving head of CANU.
Singh was successful in the interception of a major drug bust in Guyana over the years. One of his success stories was the arrest and sequence sentence of a notorious drug Kingpin, Barry Dataram.
Bruce Lovell, the lone commissioner was tasked to look into the circumstances surrounding the entry into, the interception, detention and subsequent release of an unnamed private maritime vessel in the sea space of the territory of Guyana, on or between the 11th-14th of February 2017 and to report the findings and recommendations to His Excellency Brigadier David Granger.
Two days after that vessel was released, another vessel with four Guyanese were busted with 4.2tons of cocaine by US and Trinidadian coast guards.
The inquiry examined and made recommendations under which the customs anti-narcotics unit received information, including the exact date and time of the receipt of such information that the private maritime vessel entered into Guyana’s territory.
The commission also looked at instructions issued by the Guyana Defence Force Coast Guard, the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit and the role of any foreign law enforcement agencies in the conduct of the operations to intercept, detain and search the said vessel.