CJIA CEO pleased with increased drug interception; Praises CANU, CID

[www.inewsguyana.com] – Chief Executive Officer of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport Corporation, Ramesh Ghir has revealed that the Corporation recently installed an additional 51 cameras at a cost of $48M to enhance the CCTV Monitoring Systems at the airport.

Ghir indicated that the additional cameras were being used to complement those manned by the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) and airport stakeholders.

He noted that the new cameras were extremely useful with recent investigations resulting in passengers recovering lost luggage, ipads, jewellery and other personal belongings.

He confirmed that law enforcement officers were able to use the footage to better aid their investigations as in the recent cases of cocaine in rum and cream liqueur.

When questioned by iNews about his views on the drug detection at the airport and whether there was an improvement in the past year, Ghir opined that overall there was an increase in the number of drug interceptions in 2014.

The CEO surmised that the Airport Corporation and law enforcement agencies have been working together and sharing intelligence, which resulted in a number of drug busts.

The Airport CEO was also in high praise of the work being done by CANU and CID, citing that their job is very complex and challenging.

He pointed out that the drug smugglers have been creative and innovative in their concealment methods which make it very difficult for security agents to detect.

The CEO referred to cases of cocaine in owara, ochro, pumpkin, pastries, chowmein, curry, pepper, star apple, achar, most of which were cleverly masked in an attempt to smuggle through the airport.

Further, collusion amongst airport employees was also highlighted as a major challenge for security officers.

“The problem we face is not unique to Guyana, only recently we saw over 130 guns being smuggled on several flights in the USA by two employees of the airport working in collusion,” Ghir noted.

Ghir expressed confidence that the Airport Corporation, its stakeholders, CANU and the police will continue to work assiduously to reduce and suppress the drug smuggling threat.