The 11.5 tonnes of cocaine reportedly originated from Guyana and was intercepted upon arrival at the Port of Antwerp, Belgium. All rights reserved. Here are 10 of the biggest drug busts in history. The total weight of the drugs is approximately 139.4 kilograms (307 pounds) and the estimated street value is US$6.59 million. Authorities have suggested the load was destined for Poland, from which the drugs would be distributed across Europe. A pilot traveling from Colombia to Montreal carrying $2.7 Billion in cocaine was caught by Scanners can fail to detect small quantities of drugs in large loads of scrap metal, he said. We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Cranes unload the freight ship MSC Gayane, after US authorities seized more than 16 tons of cocaine at the Packer Marine Terminal in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on June 18, 2019. Georgetown, GUYANA Climbing the Kanuku Mountains Video, USA: A Nation Of Enemies Cannot Stand By: LUCIAN K. TRUSCOTTIV, GUYANA: US Ambassador Lynch speaks: It is a long large mouthful The GHK Lall Column, Demographics: Russias Population Nightmare Is Going To Get Even Worse TheEconomist, GUYANA: NOSTALGIA: Brown Betty Restaurant Georgetown By GeoffBurrowes. Between January 1 and November 13, 2022, a total of 41 persons were charges for trafficking cocaine and cannabis. Guyana linked to historic scrap metal cocaine bust in Belgium BREAKING: Belgium finds 11.5 Tons of Cocaine in Guyana scrap The Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit will continue to put a dent in the drug trade but we cannot have agencies undermining our efforts we are supposed to be working together and not against each otherwhen that happens, it becomes difficult for us, Singh noted. Our work is costly and high risk. biggest drug bust Largest drug bust in the world Federal prosecutors had reported that this was the largest overseas drug bust ever, worldwide with an estimated street value of 900 million or US$1.06 billion. Van Den Berghe revealed, in this case, the vast quantity of cocaine exported would have likely been detected prior to its departure from Guyana. So theres that. This is the third international drug bust in recent times linked to Guyana. We respect your privacy. But according to Singh, investigations have so far revealed that the huge quantity of the drug was imported to Guyana from another country after which it was stockpiled and then loaded into the container and ultimately onto the vessel which reportedly left Guyana in September. Belgian police seize 11.5T of cocaine in 'largest overseas drug bust Stock picture. WebPolice in Laos have made the biggest single drug seizure ever recorded in Asia, according to the United Nations. Given its utility as a transit hub, the nation has attracted large-scale criminal organizations in years past, including the Italian mafia. As for Rafael? WebNarcotics Police in Jamaica are probing the discovery of scores of packages with more than 300 pounds of cocaine which were found in containers that arrived in the island from Some two decades later, the nation was increasingly used by criminal networks to smuggle drugs to Africa and Southeast Asia. I have been running my elderly bachelor neighbours farm for years and they signed a letter leaving it to me. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! WebThe Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) said that the discovery of millions of U.S. dollars worth of cocaine which was discovered on Tuesday on a shipment which was seized Authorities in The Netherlands on Thursday last discovered over 1100lbs of cocaine in a rum shipment that departed Guyana. The cartel responsible for all of it, undoubtedly taking a page out of the Spanish subtitled version of The Shawshank Redemption, dug an 1,800-foot underground tunnel from a building in Tijuana, Mexico, to a similar building in San Diego, California. Canada's Largest Drug Bust | Narco Wars: The Mob - YouTube In 1991, police officers seized 59 boxes containing 1080 pounds of Heroin, with a street gcse.src = 'https://cse.google.com/cse.js?cx=' + cx; Five other crewmen were previously sentenced to prison time after pleading guilty to helping load the massive amount of cocaine on the ship as it sailed from South America to Philadelphia. You must be logged in to post a comment And on August 22 last year authorities in Hamburg, Germany announced that they were probing the discovery of 1.5 tonnes of cocaine in a container of rice from Guyana. Guyana has also been directly linked to recent record drug busts in Europe, reflecting how traffickers have used the nation to feed increased transatlantic cocaine flows stoked by booming South American cocaine production. WebHere are 10 of the biggest drug busts in history. The force, according to this years statistics, seized more than 1000 pounds of drugs from various stop and searches, ports of entry and even the landing of suspicious aircrafts in the interior. More specifically, Guyana has also faced issues concerning scanning inefficiency at its points of exit and entry. Biggest Drug Busts It carried an estimated street value of 900 million Euros. gcse.src = 'https://cse.google.com/cse.js?cx=' + cx; In Guyana, four suspects were arrested in connection with the shipment, according to the Guyanese Minister of Home Affairs. gcse.type = 'text/javascript'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; Six arrested during Pomeroon River drug bust - Kaieteur News The 1,000 packages of coke (later mysteriously changed to 919 packagesby Navy Adm. Guillermo Barrera) weighed 55 pounds each, and were buried in an estuary near the town of Pizarro, 250 miles west of Bogota. The massive load of cocaine left a port in Guyana late October and Belgian prosecutors were able to track it, following the dismantlement of a drug trafficking gang led by a former Belgian counter-narcotics chief, which revealed the existence of tight-knit links between criminal gangs and counter-narcotics and law-enforcement officials. Durasevic and Ilic worked on board the MSC Gayane, a commercial shipping vessel, as crew members; Durasevic was the second officer and Ilic was the engineer cadet. We then verify, write and edit, providing the tools to generate real impact. Aevin Dugas first achieved the record title for largest afro in 2010. The drug may alsotransit land borders and the river network shared by Brazil, Venezuela and Suriname before it reaches Guyana. Where do I stand? We go into the field to interview, report and investigate. November 9, 2020. WebInvestigators said the bust is the largest drug haul in the world in terms of both value and quantity. Cocaine use and overdose deaths are on the rise in America after years of decline as production has surged to record levels in Colombia, the source of about 90pc of the US supply. Amount Seized: 15 tons of marijuanaValue: $19 million. You must be logged in to post a comment According to the Jamaica Observer newspaper, the drug was found in two of six containers that arrived on the island from Guyana en route to Haiti and China. WebA major drug bust on a container ship that has been described as the largest ever overseas drug bust in the world, has been traced to Guyana. Murica! Law enforcement authorities in Jamaica announced today that they have unearthed over a hundred packages with more than 300 pounds of cocaine in containers from Guyana at the Kingston Freeport Terminal Limited (KFTL). hydraulic steel doors, elevators, a wooden staircase, what sounds like the most boring drug seizure of all time, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. (Gray News) A 47-year-old woman from Louisiana has the largest afro on a living person, according to the Guinness World Records. This, he reiterated, proves that there was definitely collusion between the big fishes and staff members of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA). The bust occurredat thePacker Avenue Marine Terminal Porton the Delaware River in South Philadelphia. However, CANU subsequently stated that the cocaine found in Germany was more than likely loaded in Dominica and not Guyana. 14 April, 2023. The Guyana Police Force revealed that a total of 761.28 kilogrammes (1678 pounds) of cannabis was seized between January to October 2022. The country produced 9,000 tonnes last year, enough to make more than 880 tonnes of heroin, or 93% of the world's supply. A few weeks ago, there was a drug bust in a container of rice from Guyana in Germany. The CANU head said other details on the local probe cannot be provided at this time. Complicated Reality of Santa Barbara THE Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) has been contacted by its international counterpart, after a shipment of 11.5 tonnes of cocaine was seized in Belgium. Recent drug busts overseas with Guyana reportedly being listed as the point of origin for confiscated narcotics, is a signal that the country has returned to being a narco State, says Opposition Leader, Joseph Harmon. The Enterprise On November 5, Belgiums Federal Police announced in a tweet that some 11.5 tons of cocaine in a scrap metal shipment had been seized at the Port of Antwerp. Durasevic said he was paid $50,000 for his role in the conspiracy, according to court records. According to a TIME report, there were a few cushions cramped into the opposite end of the trailer, right behind the 1,296 packages of pot. Amount Seized: 27 tons of cocaineValue: $500 million. Hong Kong customs officers have made the city's largest-ever cocaine bust, seizing about $98 million worth of the drug Wednesday. Hamilton, Prospects bright for insurance companies in Guyana Prime Minister. The sixth and seventh crew members of the notorious MSC Gayane container ship that docked in Philadelphia in 2019 with nearly 20 tons of cocaine aboard have been sentenced for their roles in the drug haul. s.parentNode.insertBefore(gcse, s); That year, her afro had a circumference that measured 4 feet, 4 inches. Enter your email address to subscribe to this website and receive notifications of new posts by email. The catch is the largest overseas drug bust ever, worldwide, federal prosecutors told Belgian media, estimating the street value of the drug load at 900 million. Georgetown, The massive 261-ton stockpile would have netted roughly $400 million worth of profits, $14 million of which would have gone directly to the Taliban. A major drug bust on a container ship that has been described as the largest ever overseas drug bust in the world, has been traced to Guyana. Dead is 13-year-old Anthony 2021 INEWS Guyana. A gang, which modified aircraft to be able to carry cocaine from Colombia to the United States and Mexico, has, This week, InSight Crimes work was cited nine times in a newreportby the Organization of American States (OAS) titled The Impact of Organized Crime on Women,, This week, InSight Crime deputy editor, Juan Diego Posada, was interviewed by theAssociated Pressabout connections between theex-FARC mafiaand Brazilian criminal groups, and, As Ecuadors security crisis worsens, global media outlets have called on InSight Crime to provide expert knowledge on the criminal dynamics fueling the growing criminality.Americas Quarterly cited our work on, InSight Crime senior investigator Douwe den Held was interviewed by Chilean newspaperEl Mercuriothis week. })(); 2013 - 2017 New Source Guyana | Website by. Three months after that bust, more than 11 tonnes of cocaine was found in shipment of scrap metal from Guyana. Get fresh updates on organized crime from across the region delivered to your inbox. Credited as the biggest drug bust in Mexicos history, Mexican authorities seized 105 tons of marijuana in Tijuana. In May of 2014, federal agents seized over 50 pounds of heroin after busting a transport vehicle en route from the Bronx, New York to Hartford, Connecticut. At the end of the day, they confiscated over a billion dollars from Escobar. The container, from Germany, housed 1,917 kilograms of MDMA and 849 kilograms of crystal meth. DEA agents, along with officers from San Diegos Tunnel Task Force (which is an actual thing) uncovered the tunnel, which came complete with hydraulic steel doors, elevators, a wooden staircase, and a butler at either entrance. bust An eighth crewmen charged, Aleksandar Kavaja, 27, of Montenegro, the ship electrician, previously pleaded guilty but has yet to be sentenced. Durasevic was sentenced to six and a half years in prison, and Ilic was sentenced to seven years in prison. (DOMINICK REUTER/AFP via Getty Images), Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. But when youre spending over $1,000 a week on rubber bands just to wrap your stacks and stacks of money, does losing a billion of it really matter? The report said that while searching the containers, Narcotics Police accompanied by members of the Jamaica Customs Contraband Enforcement Team found a total of 122 packages (110 in one and 12 in another), each with a compressed white substance resembling cocaine. All our printed editions are available online, Dog lovers, pets get together for a fun day in the sun, Assuria opens $1B state-of-the-art head office, EU team to soon begin work to develop Guyana into regional pharmaceutical manufacturing hub. Crime Chief and Head of the Criminal Investigations Department, Wendell Blanhum during the launching of the Forces Christmas Policing Plan at the Officers Mess Hall on Tuesday said that intelligence-led operations and the hard work of ranks all over Guyana were attributing factors for the success this year. Amount Seized: 32 tons of marijuanaValue: $65 million. Bob Van Den Berghe, coordinator at the United Nations' Office on Drugs and Crime's (UNODC) and World Customs Organization's Container Control Programme, told InSight Crime that while the country has access to scanning equipment, such machines have not always been used in an optimal way to detect illicit loads. When the container was examined at the citys customs office, investigators revealed that they discovered 47 large packages of cocaine hidden between sacks of rice from Guyana. We want to sustain Latin Americas largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources. The U.S. Coast Guard seized over 42,000 pounds of cocaine in 2007 from a Panamanian vessel, the Gatun, about 20 miles off the countrys coast. Connecticut Police have apprehended a St. Johnsbury drug and shooting suspect on a murder charge after being released in Caledonia Superior Court in 2021. This is considered the highest seizure of drugs when compared to the previous year which amounted to 536 kg (1, 181) pounds. The worlds largest drug busts | TalkingDrugs Containers with over 300 lbs of cocaine from Guyana busted in It carried an estimated street value of 2022 saw largest drug busts for police force, Govt to table two bills in House ahead of CFATF evaluation, A MESSAGE FROM THE PNCR ON THE OCCASION OF LABOUR DAY 2023, Using a 300-megawatts solar power plant instead of Gas-to-Shore Project an impossible proposal Jagdeo, A MESSAGE FROM THE PPP ON THE OCCASION OF LABOUR DAY 2023, Norton disagrees with British envoy on use of bloated voters list, Police Force says Christmas surveillance strategy to thwart as much criminal activity as possible. According to CANU, it was confirmed that all 12 of the said containers were scanned locally by operatives of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) and no narcotic was detected nor were their seals appeared to have been tampered with. Contacted by Stabroek News today, Head of the Customs Anti-Narcotic Unit (CANU) James Singh said the unit is aware of the bust and that they have launched an investigation. There have been questions about the operation of the container scanners at the city wharves that are operated by the Customs Department of the GRA. When the Coast Guard ships, who were just out cruising around, approached the Gatun, the crew did not protest. In November of last year law enforcement officials in Belgium announced that they were probing the discovery of 11.5 tonnes of cocaine in a container of scrap metal shipped from Guyana. Additionally, in excess of 293.4 kg (646 pounds) of cocaine were seized for the year 2022. Prosecutors in our Office have been working non-stop to pursue justice since the MSC Gayane docked in the port of Philadelphia over two years ago, and we will not stop until the case is closed.. A wanted bulletin was issued for a local suspect who is still to be arrested. This major drug bust comes on the heels of one in August in Hamburg, Germany, where authorities discovered 1.5 tonnes of cocaine in a container of rice shipments. A spokesperson for the Customs Investigations Office said the cocaine seizure was one of the largest in Hamburgs history, and the Hamburger Abendblatt reportedthe load had an estimated street value of around 300 million ($353 million). In the late 1980s, UPI reported Guyana was an integral part of South Americas new drug smuggling route, as criminal groups sent increased loads of marijuana and cocaine across the Atlantic past outnumbered Guyanese authorities. On June 19th, 2019, federal authorities seized Officers intercepted a truck carrying 55 million methamphetamine In fact, the containers were in-transit elsewhere. And with all that sweet loot, infamous drug dealers make even more infamous purchases, like incredible mansions, rare sports cars, and exotic pet trifectas. Harmon says Guyana has returned to being narco State with recent drug GUYANA: Short Story:- When I was in the Diamond business in Guyana By Royden VChan. Only one active session is allowed per subscriber. Daily inspections were carried out on cargo, ports of exit and entry, airports and border locations where checkpoints were established, Blanhum said. Web1.San Francisco is home to the crown of the world largest ever recorded drugs bust. He offered no additional details on the local probe. The Guyana Revenue Authority subsequently dismissed some scanning staff who reportedly were operating the scanner at the time the container left Guyana. SEE ALSO: US, Italy Arrests Show Cocaine Trade's Evolution. However, the record-breaking shipment was expected by law enforcement officials as it is suspected it left the port of Guyana after the drug gangs arrest in Belgium, with drug gangs unable to intercept it once at sea. Jamaica says intercepts big cocaine shipment from Guyana Head of CANU James Singh told News Source this afternoon that two persons including the shipper of the container that was found with the cocaine are in custody. In November of last year, Australian authorities seized approximately 2.8 tons of illegal drugs inside of a shipping container. WebThe shipment which was described as the largest overseas drug bust ever, worldwide, was seized upon its arrival at the Port of Antwerp. European-bound Peruvian cocaine is usually moved by foreign gangs. Deutsche Welle, Germanys international broadcaster, reported that it was among the largest quantities of cocaine ever seized in Hamburg. WebBelgian prosecutors have dealt a new blow to a recently disbanded drug gang led by a former Belgian police chief after announcing the largest-ever overseas drug bust "in the You have entered an incorrect email address! Over 1100lbs of cocaine found in rum shipment from Guyana to Dilogo, a digital US military magazine, reported that at the end of 2012, Malaysian authorities had intercepted a staggering $7.1 million worth of cocaine in sealed tins of coconut milk shipped from Guyana. It has never been made public which drug cartel was behind the operation. Afghanistan's biggest drug problem is not hashish but opium. You know those double-decker buses in London? Records show the MSC Gayane previously stopped in the Bahamas on June 13, Panama on June 9 and May 24, and Colombia on May 19. Amount Seized: 105 tons of marijuanaValue: $425 million. More Crewmen from Cocaine Ship' Bust at Philadelphia Port Sentenced He said the local agency has been in touch with law enforcement officers in Belgium and the two sides are working together. The police have stated that the huge stash of drugs belonged to Dario Antonia Usuga, the chief of Colombias largest drug-trafficking gang, the Gulf Clan and Colombias most It was reported that counter-narcotics prosecutors tracked the transatlantic journey of 11.5 tonnes of cocaine from Guyana, on the northeastern coast of South Web0. However, he added that on a smaller scale, the use of scrap metal to conceal outward bound drugs had been problematic for authorities worldwide. Guyana. The cargo ship docked in Colombia, Peru, Panama and the Bahamas before arriving in Philadelphia early on Monday. In Belgium, three police officers, a port manager and a lawyer were among the more than 20 persons arrested as part of the operation targeting what the authorities describe as the well-structured criminal organisation suspected of orchestrating large and regular drug shipments from South America to Belgium. According to media reports out of Belgium, the Counternarcotics prosecutors there have tracked the transatlantic journey of the 11.5-tons of cocaine from Guyana. Sign up for NBC Philadelphia newsletters. Guyanas strategic locationand corruption at its ports underpin the nations ongoing role as a crucial transit hub for cocaine headed across the Atlantic and beyond. Even before the close of the year, the Guyana Police Force Drug Enforcement Unit said it has already recorded some of its biggest busts on record for 2022. Counter-narcotics prosecutors said they had tracked the transatlantic journey of 11.5-tonnes of cocaine from Guyana, on the northeastern coast of South America, and seized it upon its arrival at the Port of Antwerp. In November 2011, DEA agents busted one of the biggest U.S.-Mexico border drug-smuggling operations in recent history. Den Held discussed gang dynamics in Medelln, Colombia, and approaches used by, Our extensive coverage of criminal activity in the border areas between Venezuela and Colombia has been referenced in areportby the Colombia-Venezuela RADAR project of the Konrad. Most logical drug smugglers would make an effort to oh, I dont now, conceal the drugs they were transporting (see the above entries), but these geniuses just took the cocaine, stuffed it into cargo containers, and placed them front-and-center on the top deck of the ship. This month the DEA made the biggest meth bust in American history: 2200 pounds of meth, nearly 900 pounds of cocaine, and 13 pounds of heroin. Sometimes, things quickly go south. On November 4, it was reported that Belgian authorities had intercepted a vessel that allegedly left Guyana with a whooping 11.5 tonnes of cocaine the largest drug bust ever. largest Charges stayed in one of Ontario's largest Mob busts after alleged illegal conduct by investigators. Eleven people were arrested following a tense, Hollywood-esque, pre-dawn shootout with Mexican authorities, which ended in the seizure of 10,000 packages of pot. The warehouses manager, James Romero McTague, was eventually sentenced to life in prison without parole. According to a report in the Belgian Times newspaper, the record-breaking shipment was expected by law enforcement officials as it is suspected that the cocaine left the port in Guyana after the drug gangs arrest in Belgium. He also reported difficulties in using drug-sniffing dogs on scrap metal cargo, which mayinjure the animals. Amount Seized: More than 50 pounds of heroin and 20 pounds of cocaineValue: $11 million. Its home to rock n roll legends AC/DC, kangaroos, Granny Smith apples, and mountains upon mountains of MDMA and crystal meth, apparently. Further inspections targeted cocaine sent from Guyanese territory to Niger and China. GUYANA: Short Story:- When I was in the Diamond business in Guyana - By Royden V Chan. Delivered every morning. For decades, Guyana has served drug traffickers as a crucial transit point for South American cocaine headed to the United States and Europe. If you were blowing lines in the 1980s (read: everyone in the 80s), it probably came from him. var cx = '014742376270991751669:2oy3vex5f7k'; No one has been arrested in connection with the seizure. Singh, the head of the anti-narcotics unit in Guyana, said authorities intend to adopt a multi-agency approach to help fight such corruption.
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