The Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) says a Venezuela-based Guyanese national as well as local businessman are among four people arrested on Sunday in connection with the alleged possession of 154 pounds of cocaine that investigators believed was heading to Europe.
CANU said that the men were arrested after law enforcement authorities seized the cocaine in the vicinity of Parika, East Bank Essequibo. They said the cocaine was brought to Guyana to be shipped to Europe where it could have fetched as much as US$$2.4 million. The suspects were escorted to CANU’s headquarters shortly after they were held in a vehicle.
Meanwhile, Turksh media reported that nearly 10,000 kilos of cocaine had been seized near the Canary Islands earlier this month and considered the largest cocaine seizure ever on the high seas.
According to Turkish media, the cargo ship United S, on which the drugs were found, was also reportedly in Suriname and raises questions about that country’s possible role in international drug smuggling routes.
The ship is believed to have departed from the Turkish port of Mersin in October 2025, then visited two Brazilian ports and finally made a stop in Suriname before sailing towards the Canary Islands. Official confirmation of a Surinamese port call is not yet available.
The cocaine was discovered on January 7, during a joint operation by the Spanish Navy and police, the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the UK National Crime Agency (NCA).
Aboard the ship, which was carrying a cargo of salt from Brazil, 294 packages of cocaine were found, weighing a total of 9,994 kilograms. Thirteen crew members were arrested, including four of Turkish nationality.
The vessel was intercepted in international waters near the Canary Islands. Spanish authorities are calling it a record haul: never before has so much cocaine been seized at sea in a single operation. The investigation focuses on an international criminal network suspected of smuggling massive quantities of cocaine from South America to Europe.
Seven suspects have since been arrested on suspicion of forming a criminal organization, drug trafficking, and money laundering. Three other suspects are at large and international arrest warrants and red alerts have been issued against them.
Authorities have seized real estate, bank accounts, stocks, and cryptocurrencies belonging to the suspects and a shipping company suspected of involvement.