Ministers Maneesh Gobin, Dr. Kailesh Jagutpal and Soodesh Callichurn of the MSM held its weekly press conference at the Sun Trust Building. Drugs were the dominant topic of this press briefing. The MSM spokespersons also mentioned, without going into too much detail, the arrest of Bruno Laurette and his son Ryan, who were arrested on Friday, while stressing that the whole affair will be followed up by investigations.
The Attorney General said that there is no question of “timing” in the arrest of Bruneau Laurette, because the fight against drugs is conducted every day, he said. The minister, however, made a point of denouncing those who “zet labou” on institutions. Moreover, he deplored that some people already pronounce a judgment on a case in progress.
The Attorney General pointed out that the government has repeatedly said that it will not tolerate that drug traffickers put the future of young people and the country at risk. He asked the public to try to imagine the havoc that drugs would have wreaked among the population if it were not for all these actions of the authorities, including the police and other concerned institutions.
Dr. Kailesh Jagutpal, for his part, pointed out that the fight against drugs that the government is leading is not yesterday but for several years. He recalled the number of drug lords, who were arrested, while they spread terror in the country. He stressed that after having taken the courageous decision to institute the Commission of Inquiry, the government is currently working hard for the implementation of measures. He also pointed out that in parallel, there is also since 2019 the National Drug Control Master Plan, which serves as an action plan in order to stop the ravages of drug trafficking, and which is chaired by the Prime Minister.
The Minister of Health also dwelt on the new amendments, which have been taken to the Parliament, concerning the fight against drugs. Dr. Kailesh Jagutpal explained that this is the first time in the history of the country where the victims of drugs, who were sidelined and judged as drug addicts all the time, get a chance to be rehabilitated, instead of being condemned. He pointed out that these people are mainly fragile people, who have not been able to recover from the hard knocks of life. He said he was aware that for consumers, it is difficult to stop or to do without products without help. And that instead of letting these people commit crimes to be able to get supplies, the Drug Users Panel will make sure that they receive the necessary services and accompaniments to allow them to resume a normal life.
In conclusion, the Minister of Labor returned to the case of ‘ti papié’, which was raised in Parliament. He explained that within the hemicycle, it is the duty of everyone to provide all the answers and especially, the truth.
Regarding this case, Soodesh Callichurn himself said that he finds it unacceptable how the company involved tried to bring this shipment of ‘ti papié’. He recalled that the authorization of the latter was based on the law that had been amended in 2016, which stated that no order, made at that time, would be affected. For him, the sponsor has clearly abused this law.
Soodesh Callichurn also clarified that as a minister, he is not aware of all the files that the department deals with and that there are officials, who are empowered to make decisions. The CAC will make a thorough investigation of the procedures adopted and the people involved in obtaining this authorization, he said.
