A joint operations involving several units of the local Police Force nabbed some 34 kilogrammes of cocaine on Tuesday, Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves told Parliament on Thursday.
Gonsalves, who is also Minister of National Security, said that at 6:30 a.m. Tuesday, Drug Squad officers, acting on information received of a cocaine shipment at seas in the waters of St. Vincent and the Grenadines between local and Venezuelan drug runner, initiated a joint operation between the Coastguard, the Rapid Response Unit and the Special Services Unit.
He said that a local speedboat collected the drug and landed it at Questelles beach on the southwestern coast of St. Vincent.
He said it is alleged that a Venezuelan came ashore with the drug, and police searched the shore and bushes at Questelles and recovered a nylon sack containing 34 cocaine bricks, each weighing 1 kilogramme.
Gonsalves said that the find is “multimillion dollar haul” but no arrest have been made and investigations are on going.
“I want to say that the intelligence arm of the Police has been enhanced and we have been able to move with greater certainty on a number of matters,” Gonsalves told Parliament.
He said that the Coastguard Base in Canouan, in the Southern Grenadines, has been of some help.
“Though no one has been arrested as yet, clearly, the person who had this shipment coming to him or her will have a lot of question to answer to their bosses,” Gonsalves said, adding, “This is a lot of money.”
He said that while this country doesn’t produce cocaine, it has been a transhipment point but is making it more difficult to transport cocaine.
“Because it is a trade that has a lot of money, when you are able to nab big operators and they become incarcerated, there are also one or two persons of a lesser rank who would find themselves seeking promotion and it is a matter which we are noting,” Gonsalves said.
“And, as I have said, the coordinated intelligence work of different agencies is bearing fruit,” he said, as he congratulated the Police Force, and the individual agencies involved.
“This is, again, the efforts of the government and people of St. Vincent and the Grenadines to put a stop to the trafficking of cocaine or at least to restrict its spread,” he said.
Where is the rest of it….
CAMILO, its probably up a few peoples noses by now, or even been used as soap powder like the Union Island batch.
Only in SVG. When Venezuelans are caught there is no cocaine, when cocaine found there are no Venezuelans.
So what’s the point … Telling us about the one that got away?
Yeah, tell us about the one that got away.
What’s the point?
There may well be 6 packets missing, or even 16.