NARCOTICS, FUEL SMUGGLING CORRUPTING GUYANA -DAVID
GRANGER

Guyana Defence Force Brigadier (ret) David A Granger believes that
narcotics and fuel smuggling are corrupting Guyana on a large scale
and he is calling on the security forces to spend time suppressing
these rather than pursuing street criminals who are mere products of
the more lucrative illegal trades.

Granger's approach, however, contrasts with that of President Bharrat
Jagdeo who has been calling on the security forces to root out the
small-scale drug pushers and criminals. A security expert who asked
not be named told this newspaper that it was evident that the
authorities seemed to be regarding crime as only the street robberies
and the periodic incursions by gunmen, and this was reflected in the
aggressive approach of the security forces in weeding out the
criminals in Buxton and Agricola and also beefing up security in the
commercial zones.

The security expert observed, however, that the same posture was not
being seen in the law enforcement agencies' fight against narcotics
trafficking, money laundering and fuel smuggling, and that this was
reflected in the amount of resources being allocated to agencies such
as the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit to fight the drugs' scourge. The
US has over the years criticized the country's fight against the
narco-trade, noting that cocaine shipments continue to pass through
the country's porous borders, while large drug dealers remain here
untouched.

Political will

During an interview with Stabroek News on Wednesday, Granger posited
that Guyana could experience a better level of public safety and
security, but this would remain elusive once there was no political
will by the administration to implement the recommendations of
several studies conducted to improve the security forces. He said
lack of proper crime intelligence and integrity among some of the
security officers were also stumbling blocks, which if not removed
would continue to negatively affect the performance of the police
force.

Close to 100 persons have been murdered so far for the year and armed
robberies continue to soar. The head of the force has also been
accused by the United States of profiting from the drugs trade and
his visas to that country have been revoked.

Asked for his assessment on the work of the security forces in
combating crime, Granger said to the extent that persons continued to
be murdered regularly and cocaine and other illegal substances were
getting through local ports, the security forces were yet to arrest
the situation. He observed, however, that it was difficult for the
security forces to be successful unless they established sound
intelligence systems which would help them to anticipate when crimes
were likely to be committed, and also to identify the perpetrators
of crime.

The former army officer said that at present the security forces'
crime intelligence was not sufficiently strong to perform those
tasks. "The whole idea of intelligence is that you should not only be
able to know about a crime, but also to anticipate and forestall the
actions of criminals," Granger declared.

He added that the police force had suffered in this area over the
years because of the behaviour of certain elements in the
organization whose conduct had been dishonourable. "They have lost
the confidence of some sections of the population, who could provide
information which could be used as intelligence... their behaviour
has been damaging and as a result of that, people who are aware of
crimes and the behaviour of criminals are reluctant to tell the
police," Granger said.

Britain through a UKP3M Security Reform Action Plan has promised, among
other things, to boost the police force's intelligence capacity.

In addition, Granger said that the training of policemen had to be
tackled seriously if the security forces were to make any inroads
into the criminal underworld. He said that efforts must be placed on
ensuring that well-trained officers were in key positions in the
force, noting that it was clear that the level of training being
given to police officers needed be revised and made more relevant and
up-to-date to deal with the present level and types of criminality.
"I don't know to what extent police training has kept abreast with
the changes, but I think the training that recruits get at the Felix
Austin College must be critically re-examined to determine its
usefulness," Granger stressed.

The British plan also caters for training in an effort to strengthen
leadership. The plan promises to develop a leadership training
programme for the senior management of the police force and also to
implement and sustain leadership training. The police over the years
have been receiving assistance in the area of training from Britain.
"If you have a large well-trained cadre of policemen then we will
have stronger enforcement and criminals would be afraid to commit
crimes," Granger said.

Alleged connections

He further stated that what was needed in Guyana was a strong,
professional police service that would apply the full force of the
law to everyone regardless of their social and economic status. It is
the view of many that the police have been reluctant to seek out
drug dealers and fuel smugglers, some of whom are alleged to have
connections with government officials. Several known drug dealers
were allowed to live here comfortably until they were arrested by law
enforcement officials in other jurisdictions.

Arms smuggling

Granger said that the drug traffickers and those involved in
contraband who were the real culprits, engaged in arms smuggling to
protect their business and their activities, and this was responsible
for the spiralling crime situation. He said the criminal who robbed
a gas station or a cambio using a hand gun, did not have the capacity
to import the weapon he used, but often acquired it by way of rental
and other means from the drug traffickers and gun-runners. The issue
of the movement of illegal weapons across the nation's borders has
been a problem over the years and despite many promising statements
from the authorities underscoring their commitment to combat this
crime, not much has been done to stem the tide.

Earlier this year the Home Affairs Ministry set up an inter-agency
task force to look at arms smuggling and Minister Clement Rohee said
that the body would report to him on their findings. It is not clear
what work has been done by the body so far, as the streets are still
awash with illegal weapons, and save for intercepting a few citizens
here and there with small arms the police have had little success in
reining in these illicit weapons.

Commissioner of Police (ag) Henry Greene back in September told a
press conference that the illegal weapons trade was a major problem
in battling crime. He said that the trade was flourishing at present,
adding that the police did not have the intelligence to stop it
because the weapons were coming from various countries, Brazil being
the major source. "We are working on stemming the tide of illegal
weapons entering the country, but they are getting here in various
ways and from several countries," Greene said then.

Granger agreed with the Acting Commis-sioner that many of the weapons
on the streets today were coming from Brazil, but he asserted that it
was a shame that although the source of the weapons had been
identified authorities had not done anything to seal it off. The
Brigadier (ret) said that Guyana's longest border was with Brazil,
one of the world's largest exporters of small arms. He said the
frequency with which .38 and .32 Taurus pistols and revolvers - which
are manufactured there - had been showing up in street crimes
suggested that Brazil was indeed the source. "The fact that there is
such a large influx of illegal Brazilian manufactured weapons coming
here you would assume that there would have been attempts to seal
that border or conduct surveillance to determine to what extent guns
are being smuggled across the border," Granger said.

During a visit to Lethem in September residents told this newspaper
of the prevalence of arms trafficking. One speedboat operator who
ferries passengers across one of the many illegal border crossings
recalled how he transported men with suitcases containing both small
arms and rifles. Residents also said that the smuggling of goods was
also prevalent. Granger added that some criminal activity such as
drug trafficking depended on weapons to protect the illegal business
and so there was a high demand for weapons and henchmen/gunmen to
protect those activities. "So not only the frontiers are open for
smuggling of weapons, but the mode of criminal activities and their
nature provide a ready market for illegal weapons and criminal gunmen
to conduct those rackets," Brigadier Granger commented. He said
unless there was a move to suppress the activities "you will never
suppress the demand for the illegal weapons."

The trade in arms for drugs by criminals in Brazil and Guyana is said
to be a flourishing business. In this year's US drug report it was
mentioned that the trade in drugs for weapons by Guyanese was
thriving. Security experts believe that criminals in Guyana,
including drug cartels and bandits, have links to other foreign
jurisdictions, especially border countries. Meanwhile, there have not
been many interceptions of guns coming through Guyana's main entry
port, the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, but the number of
illegal guns on the streets indicates that the weapons are entering
through the porous borders. Further, illegal weapons are not only
widely used in criminal activities in Guyana, but also circulate at
all levels of society, and as public security continues to
deteriorate, demand for these weapons seems to be on the rise.

Border control

Granger acknowledged that with the current strength of the police
force it is hardly likely that it would be able to monitor the
borders effectively. He noted that in addition to boosting its human
resource capacity, the police force would need to conduct aerial as
well as maritime surveillance of its borders to detect
people-trafficking, contraband and drugs smuggling. The former army
officer said that the country had a vast number of unpatrolled
crossings with Brazil and other countries and several unmonitored
airfields.

Guyana and Brazil had signed an agreement a few years ago to
cooperate in the area of security and public safety, but Granger said
that while the Brazil Federal Police had been helpful to Georgetown
he was not sure whether this country had the capacity to fulfil the
agreement. "We have to monitor our side of the borders if people are
crossing illegally; we must set up immigration posts, conduct
patrols. Security is a big thing [and] once you are slack you will
have problems," Granger said.

Asked about the access to AK-47 and M-70 rifles, he said that of all
combat weapons the AK-47 was manufactured in the greatest quantity.
He said it was the most popular assault weapon in the world and was
also cheap. "They are coming from all over the socialist world and
even Venezuela," Granger said. On whether he would support a gun
amnesty programme, Granger said it would not work in Guyana, arguing
that there had to be two approaches to tackling gun smuggling and
these were: strong intelligence - identifying the source of the
weapons, who were the traffickers (gun-runners), the various
networks, and how the weapons were being trafficked and
distributed.

The second was enforcement, which included patrols. Tougher laws on
gun crimes, he observed, would not suffice. "People are not afraid of
laws, they are afraid of the enforcement of [them]. If you have a
large cadre of officers who are well trained, efficient and doing
their work that is what will beat back the criminals, not whether an
offence is bailable or non-bailable," the retired brigadier stated.
Granger said that the administration must also be prepared to give
the force more resources. He said some people thought that crime
could be fought by shooting criminals and carrying out mass arrests,
but this would not work. Granger said what was needed was for the
security forces through strong intelligence to know who was funding
the criminals, how they disposed of their loot and how they acquired
their weapons. "You have to unravel their network and then you will
get to them," Granger said.