GUYANA NARCO-RUMORS: ACETONE IMPORTS, STALLED HOTEL

C O N F I D E N T I A L GEORGETOWN 000562

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

WHA/CAR
INL/LP
CARACAS FOR DAO AND LEGATT
PORT OF SPAIN FOR DEA AND LEGATT

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/15/2016
TAGS: SNAR PGOV PINR KCRM GY
SUBJECT: GUYANA NARCO-RUMORS: ACETONE IMPORTS, STALLED HOTEL

REF: GEORGETOWN 300

Classified By: Political Officer Benjamin Canavan
For reason 1.4(d)


1. (U) PolOff's recent conversations with prominent locals
yielded noteworthy comments about developments in Guyana's
narco-trade.


2. (C) PolOff spoke June 7 with Stanley Ming (protect),
vice-chairman of the opposition PNC/R party and prominent
Guyanese businessman. He is a large importer by Guyanese
standards -- a licensed distributor of John Deere, Mitsubishi
and Yamaha products. Ming has been a forthcoming
interlocutor with post for several years. But he is a
reluctant politician, preferring to discuss auto racing or
his vision for Guyana as a South American transportation hub.



3. (C) Ming expressed grave concern that narco-criminals are
using forest concessions as cover for cocaine processing
labs. He argues that the labs are being set up in reaction
to pressure exerted on Colombian operations. (Note: See
reftel and 2006 INCSR for more detail on narco-trafficking
infiltration of Guyana's forestry sector.) Ming said he is
certain that large quantities of acetone (a solvent used in
cocaine production) have been imported into Guyana in the
past two years. He added that the remote forest concession
for which leading narco-criminal Shaheed "Roger" Khan tried
to obtain a permit in 2005 is not commercially attractive
given its timber content, but does provide a very dense
canopy -- ideal for concealing illicit activities.


4. (C) PolOff spoke June 4 with Glenn Lall (protect),
publisher of the Kaieteur News. Lall has a sketchy past --
he translated a shoe trading business (and rumored
involvement with alien smuggling) into a muckraking
independent newspaper. He has a finger firmly on the pulse
of Guyana's underworld, which serves his media enterprise
well.


5. (C) Lall said that Prakash "Buddy" Shivraj has run into
financial difficulties, which threaten to halt progress on
his hotel project -- "Buddy's International Four Star Hotel".
Shivraj is a Guyanese businessman widely acknowledged to be
involved with local narco-traffickers, at a minimum
laundering their money. His main business venture appears to
be a five-story bar/nightclub/restaurant/gym (the predictably
named "Buddy's") in Georgetown.


6. (C) Lall said that Shivraj has tried unsuccessfully to tap
local narco-criminals to obtain additional funds to complete
the hotel's construction. The five-story concrete frame went
up quickly in early 2006, but it still needs major interior
and exterior work. Shivraj obtained neither bank financing
nor the required permits for the hotel's construction. The
230-room project is situated next to the new stadium that
will host Cricket World Cup (CWC) matches in Spring 2007.
Failure to complete the hotel by then would surely render it
financially unviable. This would also severely embarrass the
GoG, which -- because of Guyana's dire lack of adequate hotel
space for CWC -- looked the other way in allowing Shivraj to
embark on the project.
Ingram