Drug trafficking remains a major concern in The Bahamas as smugglers continue to recycle transport methods, according to a senior law enforcement official.
Drug Enforcement Unit Deputy Director ASP Napoleon Johnson said Wednesday that drug traffickers continue to use go-fast boats, make drops from planes, freighters or even Haitian sloops.
And traffickers, he said, continue to route their drugs through The Bahamas from places like Jamaica, Columbia and Venezuela.
In recent weeks, the Royal Bahamas Police Force has had some successes through several drug busts in the country.
“It shows that drug users are still using our waters, and we will do our best to apprehended them,” ASP Johnson said. “We need the community support because the police cannot do everything alone. Without the community itﾒs very difficult for us.”
On September 7, a joint operation between American and Bahamian authorities resulted in the seizure of 49 bales of marijuana worth $250,000 from suspected drug traffickers, police reported.
The drug bust occurred in the southern tip of Abaco and Grand Bahama where suspects in their go-fast boats reportedly dropped off the drugs into Bahamian waters while escaping capture.
ASP Johnson said when law enforcement officers make drug busts it could be a very dangerous activity.
“We just donﾒt take anything lightly because you are dealing with, in some cases, international drug lords,” he said.
According to the U.S. International Narcotics Control Strategy Report for 2006, The Bahamas remains a major transit country for cocaine and marijuana bound for the U.S. from South America and the Caribbean.
During 2005, the Drug Enforcement Unit seized 1.01 metric tons of cocaine and 13 metric tons of marijuana, according to the report. The DEU arrested 1,382 persons on drug-related offenses and seized drug-related assets, including five boats and five vehicles.
Cocaine seizures decreased compared to 2004 levels. This decrease is the result of the continued vigilance and precise targeting actions by law enforcement agencies and the 2005 hurricane season, the report said.
ASP Johnson said figures totaling seizures for 2006 were not immediately available.
By: Perry Scavella, The Bahama Journal
