Surinamese police have intercepted two trucks carrying more than two tonnes of material suspected to be cyanide, which investigators believe was brought illegally into the country from Guyana.
The trucks were stopped at the Burnside police checkpoint in Coronie while travelling towards Paramaribo, according to reports by the Surinamese news outlets Starnieuws and Waterkant.
Kiskadee Watch attempted to get a comment from police here but efforts were unsuccessful.
Cyanide is commonly used to separate gold from ore but poses grave risks to people and the environment when transported, stored or used improperly. Suriname has restricted its importation and has previously announced plans to phase it out.
Waterkant reported that the shipment was believed to have entered Suriname through an unofficial landing facility in Nickerie before being transported overland.
The exact quantity, origin and intended recipient remain under investigation. Authorities are also seeking to determine the composition of the material and whether permits had been issued for its importation and transportation.
While initial reports said several persons had been detained in connection with the shipment, the Suriname Herald reported yesterday that no arrests had been made. There has been no official clarification of the conflicting accounts.
The interception has since attracted the attention of Suriname’s National Assembly, where parliamentarians Mahinder Jogi, Rabin Parmessar and Asis Gajadien pressed the government for information about the shipment and the wider illegal movement of hazardous chemicals.
According to Starnieuws, Jogi asked how the seized material was being stored and what safety measures had been put in place. He referred to an earlier case in which mercury stored at a police station reportedly disappeared and asked whether all required procedures had been followed in the present case.
Parmessar questioned how the shipment could have entered Suriname from Guyana through the western border and travelled to Coronie before being detected. While commending the police at Burnside, he raised concerns about the effectiveness of earlier checks along the route.
He also warned that mercury and other dangerous chemicals might be entering Suriname from Guyana and called on the government to explain how their movement was being monitored.
Gajadien focused on the use of cyanide in Suriname’s gold-mining industry. He said numerous ponds in which cyanide was being used had appeared in the interior in recent months and called for closer monitoring by the Ministry of Oil, Gas and Environment and the National Environmental Authority.
He suggested that satellite imagery and other modern technology could be used to track changes in gold-mining areas.
The Surinamese government is expected to answer the parliamentarians’ questions today.
Up to press time, there was no response from the Government of Guyana, the Guyana Police Force, the Guyana Revenue Authority or the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission.
Surinamese authorities have also not identified the alleged exporter in Guyana, the owners of the two trucks, the precise point from which the shipment departed Guyana or its intended recipient in Paramaribo. The reported Guyanese origin of the shipment has not yet been independently established.
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