The tip of the iceberg!
That’s how National Security Minister, Dr. Horace Chang, has described recent major seizures of drugs and guns at the nation’s ports.
The minister was speaking on Cliff Hughes Online on Wednesday.
Mahiri Stewart reports.
Dr. Chang says the local authorities are making inroads in the interception of contraband through our transshipment points.
This is possible due to enhanced surveillance and deeper collaboration with overseas partners, especially the US government.
He says Jamaica’s participation in the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition is helping in that fight.
But the national security minister told George Davis that the quantum of the contraband seized pales in comparison to the amount that makes it through.
Minister Chang says the coalition strengthens cooperation against transnational organised criminal networks in Jamaica and across the Caribbean.
He says the recent seizure of approximately $1billion worth of cocaine at a port in Kingston is an example of what intense collaboration and information sharing can produce.
The police have linked last week’s billion-dollar drug seizure to a multinational drug syndicate. Eight employees at the Kingston Container Terminal were arrested in connection with the find.
Dr. Chang says closing the gaps at our ports of entry is crucial to ensuring that Jamaica avoids the risk of being designated as an unfavourable shipping point.
He says the country simply cannot afford the grave economic fallout that would accompany such a designation.
Meanwhile, Minister Chang says the trafficking of contraband through ports in Jamaica and the Caribbean has to be addressed on all fronts.
Dr. Horace Chang, national security minister.
