By Serdar Dincel
ISTANBUL (AA) — The US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned six suspected drug traffickers who smuggle cocaine via boats and "narco subs," according to an official statement.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Thursday announced sanctions against four Guyanese nationals — Paul Daby Jr., Randolph Duncan, Mark Cromwell, and Himnauth Sawh — as well as two Colombians, Yeison Andres Sanchez Vallejo and Manuel Salazar Gutierrez, for allegedly trafficking large amounts of cocaine from South America to the United States, Europe, and the Caribbean.
Paul Daby Jr. and Randolph Duncan run Guyana's "largest" drug trafficking network, using "narco subs"—semi-submersible vessels—as well as airstrips and a large number of people to carry out their smuggling rackets, according to the statement.
It added that Daby Jr. smuggles illegal gold from Guyana, while Duncan traffics cocaine from the country to Africa, the Caribbean, Europe, and the US.
The department stated that Mark Cromwell, a former Guyana police officer, is wanted in connection with the alleged abduction of another officer in 2024.
Himnauth Sawh, an active Guyana police officer, is accused of assisting Mexican and Venezuelan drug traffickers in smuggling cocaine across the country by ensuring their safe passage.
Meanwhile, Colombians Yeison Andres Sanchez Vallejo and Manuel Salazar Gutierrez are accused of managing airstrips used by cocaine-transporting aircraft from Colombia to Guyana.
"As a result of today’s action, all property and interests in property of the designated or blocked persons described above that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC," the statement said.
It added that Guyana's proximity to the Caribbean, combined with alleged corruption at its ports and borders, allows aircraft and "narco subs" to pass through the country's waters undetected.
Despite enforcement efforts, authorities have discovered record levels of cocaine being transported in homemade "narco subs" that navigate rivers through Guyana's jungles, according to CBS News.
In March 2025, a cargo vessel that departed from Guyana was intercepted by police near Trinidad and Tobago carrying around 182 kilograms of cocaine, according to the statement.