By Glenroy Sinclair, Staff ReporterJOINT ANTI-NARCOTICS operations last year, involving local and overseas law enforcement officers, resulted in a record seizure of over 3,700 kilograms of cocaine and a significant increase in the number of Colombian nationals arrested.
Senior Superintendent Carl Williams, who heads the island's Narcotics Division, attributed the success to the efficiency of his staff and the additional personnel his department received. The collaboration between Colombian, British, United States and Canadian governments played a significant role, he said, adding the commitment on the part of the Jamaican government to purchase additional equipment also paid rich dividends.
Data obtained from the Narcotics Division revealed a fluctuation in the amount of cocaine seized over the past eight years.
For example, in 1995, the amount seized totalled 570 kilograms but the following year the amount decreased to 233 kilograms and in 1997 it went up again to 414 kilograms. In 2001 the inflow of cocaine increased, narcotics officers seized 2,948 kilograms. Last year they made a record haul of 3,725 kilograms.
Jamaica has been used as a transhipment point for narcotics trafficking and a number of Colombians have been linked to the growing cocaine trade.
Last year the police arrested 16 Colombian nationals. This is the highest number of Colombian nationals jailed since 1995 when 10 were arrested. Between 1995 and 2001 the number of them arrested remained beyond double figures.
Among some of the major cocaine busts involving Colombians was the record haul in August 2001 at Port Royal, Kingston. Two Colombians, Leonardo Gonzales Forbes, and Pedora Cordona, were among five men charged in connection with 3,395 pounds of cocaine. They were convicted in October and given a 10-year prison sentence.
On August 28 last year, police intercepted 480 kilos of cocaine which was destined to Jamaica from Colombia. Five Jamaicans and three Colombians were later arrested.
In March last year National Security Minister Dr. Peter Phillips announced that the government planned to spend $4.4 billion over two years to improve the capability of the island's security forces, purchasing equipment for them and securing the ports of entry.
There was also a record number of arrests of cocaine swallowers nabbed at the island's two international airports. Most of the swallowers were headed to the United Kingdom.
Police records showed that 351 swallowers were arrested last year. The figure climbed from two in 1999 to 47 in 2001.
