Ramesh calls for intelligence to fight drug trade

GOVERNMENT must boost the intelligence-gathering capabilities of its law enforcement agencies if it is to properly combat the drug trade. This was the view expressed by former Attorney General Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj as he commented about the discovery of an international drug-smuggling ring out of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Acting on information, officers of the Organised Crime and Narcotics Unit organised a sting operation at the Ministry’s Dundonald Street offices and arrested a courier before he could hand over two diplomatic bags. The bags contained a quantity of cocaine and were earmarked for the Trinidad and Tobago consulate in New York. Two persons appeared before a Port-of-Spain magistrate charged with drug trafficking and attempting to smuggle drugs out of the country.  Two men and a woman from diplomatic postings overseas have been brought back and are being questioned by police. Diplomatic representatives in London, New York and Canada have since been informed about the intervention. Government was due to issue a statement at yesterday’s sitting of the Senate about the matter.

Maharaj told Newsday that while he had no specifics about this matter, it was clear that Government needed to boost its intelligence-gathering capabilities to combat the international drug trade. “You can’t fight the drug trade without intelligence,” he declared. Maharaj said such mechanisms existed within the Office of the Attorney General and the Ministry of National Security while he was AG, but these resources have since dwindled and the ruling PNM was responsible for this. The former AG said under his watch there were several task forces which liased regularly with intelligence agencies in Britain, Venezuela, Canada and the United States. He added that the former UNC government was complimented by former US Attorney General Janet Reno for its efforts to fight international drug traffickers and Reno described TT as the leading nation in the region in this regard. Maharaj lamented that this was no longer the case.

He also explained that as AG, he ensured that tough laws were put in place to deal with money laundering which is the principal spin-off of the drug trade, saying security agencies worldwide know this is the best way to attack drug traffickers. He recalled that it was under his watch that the assets of drug lords were seized, with the most notable being the reclaiming of State lands formerly under the control of deceased drug kingpin Dole Chadee. The former AG said he was unaware of any such legal procedures being implemented under the current government.