28925: Ayiti Chanje (news) Mega ganja bust - Drug find linked to Haiti (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: ayitichanje1804@hotmail.com

Mega ganja bust - Drug find linked to Haiti - Bahamian nabbed in raids
published: Wednesday | August 16, 2006

Glenroy Sinclair, Staff Reporter

http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20060816/lead/lead1.html

A massive multi-unit operation in St. Catherine, Clarendon, and Trelawny over 
the past two days has resulted in the seizure of more than $205 million worth 
of compressed ganja and the arrest of five persons, including a Bahamian 
national.

Head of the Narcotics Division, Senior Superintendent Carlton Wilson, told The 
Gleaner yesterday that a 40-foot boat with several drums of fuel and a truck 
that was used to transport a shipment of ganja in Old Harbour Bay were also 
seized.

The biggest success of the operation came yesterday.

It began on Monday night when scores of law enforcement agents swooped down 
upon the fishing village in Old Harbour Bay, St. Catherine, searching for a 
shipment of ganja that was destined to be shipped overseas.

Major trans-shipment point

Reports are that the search ended yesterday morning, after more than 1,868 
pounds of ganja, packed in 48 bags, were discovered in an old fishing boat 
smartly concealed in the mangroves. Two men were later taken into custody and 
the truck seized.

"This is a major trans-shipment point in the illegal drug/gun trade between 
Jamaica and Haiti," said SSP Wilson.

The officer said he considered yesterday's success a breakthrough in the 
smuggling ring, with the country's Caribbean neighbours, which came to the 
attention of the authorities more than two years ago.

"We are now seeking the assistance of our overseas counterparts in Colombia, 
the Dominican Republic and Haiti to assist with the investigations," SSP Wilson 
commented.

Manhunt on

In the meantime, local police are also looking for a number of persons they 
believe are directly or indirectly linked to the drug ring.

On Monday, members of Operation Kingfish, the Special Anti-Crime Task Force and 
the Jamaica Defence Force carried out a raid in Cockpit, Clarendon, where they 
seized 1,062 pounds of ganja and arrested 43-year-old Sylvester Richards.

Two Jamaicans and a Bahamian were arrested in another intelligence-driven 
operation conducted in Falmouth, Trelawny, where the narcotics police seized 
the 40-foot fishing vessel

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