The United States Statement Department is concerned about the rising number of cocaine smuggling through Bahamian airports, primarily cases in which Lyndon Pindling International Airport staff are involved.
Aviation routes used by drug traffickers between the Bahamas and the United States were labeled “an increasing source of concern,” according to a newly released report, which also discussed the availability of drugs in prison, the increase in marijuana use among students, and the police’s inability to tackle Haitian-Bahamian drug gangs.
The report said: “Recent law enforcement information points to increased smuggling through air traffic, both by newly established commercial traffic from South and Central America and through private planes.
“US law enforcement analysts anticipate that sustained law enforcement pressure on networks in Central America will continue to compel illicit drug traffickers to re-establish both alternate and historic drug smuggling routes from producer countries to the United States, including through the Bahamas.”
The report adds: “There has also been a rise in the interdiction of cocaine at the international airport by Customs and Border Protection agents working at the pre-clearance facility, with at least one case allegedly involving staff employed by the Nassau Airport Authority.”
Drug smuggling by boat remains a major concern, the report said.
