Guyana: Police destroy marijuana farms worth $165 million in Berbice

The Guyana Police Force carried out a major anti-drug operation in the Upper Berbice River on October 21, 2026, destroying extensive cannabis farms and related facilities with an estimated value of $165 million.

The operation began at approximately 1:40 a.m. and concluded at 7:10 p.m., lasting around 17 hours and 30 minutes. A team of police officers, led by a gazetted officer, targeted suspected cultivation and processing sites in the Wiruni and Sandhills areas.

Widespread over a land of 23 acres, the police specifically targeted two highly suspected areas named as Wiruni and Sandhills situated in the Upper Berbice River region. The area was a majorly flat plain savannahs area where the farms were easily maintained because of its flat, grassy nature.

The police during its investigation approximately found 310,500 doubtful cannabis (marijuana) plants and fields. The fields featured cannabis crops at different stages of production starting from the little plant saplings to the mid- sized growing crops and the fully grown six feet tall plants as well.

In addition to the cannabis (marijuana) crop fields, in the midst of their investigations, police also came across their processing units estimated at a total value of $165 million. Containing individually 440 pounds of dried cannabis which was already harvested in addition to seven makeshift camps where the people taking care and maintaining the fields live along with six drying sheds for drying the crops after they are harvested.

As a result, the police abolished the whole site which includes the crops, processing units and makeshift camps by burning it down. Although nobody could be detained from the suspected site while the police continued their investigations to taper down all the resources.