Six men made their first appearance before the Chief Magistrate on Monday 10th November 2014 in relation to the most recent seizure of over 50kg Cocaine. The seizure, which took place in the early morning hours of Friday 7th November 2014 by the ONDCP, saw the arrest of Eugene Francis, an Antiguan who resides in Weatherills, Elvi Brito, a native of the Dominican Republic who resides in Sutherlands, Mathias Greenaway, a Dominican who resides in Yorks and three Venezuelans who entered the country illegally, namely Erick Gutierrez, Eddy Marquez and Ramon Brito, on multiple drug related charges.
All the men were denied bail due to the quantity of drugs seized and are scheduled to come before the Magistrate on the 19th February 2015 for committal proceedings.
The Director of the ONDCP is pleased with this recent interdiction but is mindful that there still exists a US $38 Billion dollar drug industry. Being aware of where the Caribbean is located between the producing countries in the south and the consuming countries in the north, this problem will continue to plague the region’s law enforcement in their efforts to prevent drug trafficking through the regions territorial waters. Limited resources and the ease of which persons are corrupted and compromised, creates huge challenges for law enforcement. It is therefore imperative that law enforcement agencies strengthen the intelligence gathering capabilities and co-ordination to allow law enforcement to have a fighting chance to address this specific issue.
If we as an Agency, in our successful efforts can reduce the availability of this drug to our children, then we feel satisfied that we have allowed more children to have access to a higher education by not being a victim of drug use and/or drug abuse thereby making our contribution towards nation building and the protection of our youths.
