Over $20 million worth of drugs destroyed

Millions of dollars worth of illegal drugs, which was in the possession of the Royal St Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force (RSVGPF), went up in flames this week.{{more}}

The scene of the blaze was the Rabacca Dry River, at the foot of La Soufriere mountain.

In the early hours of Tuesday, January 29, law enforcement officers offloaded 13,301 pounds of marijuana and 67.7 pounds of cocaine, and with the assistance of used tires, logs and gasoline, set fire to the stash.

Witnessing the massive bonfire were members of the judiciary, the clergy and the media, as well as senior officers of various departments of the RSVGPF.

Commissioner of Police Keith Miller, who informed the media that some of the confiscated substances had been in police possession from as far back as 2002, put the value of the illegal drugs at more than $20 million.

He said that there were still drugs in police custody, but they could not be destroyed until matters surrounding them were completed in court.

Miller said the marijuana and cocaine had a street value of EC$19,951,500 and EC$1,729,350 respectively, for a total street value of EC$21,630,850.

“That’s a lot of money being destroyed here today, but this is not to say that this is good money; to me that’s bad money. That’s drugs that we recovered in land and sea operations and based on what we are seeing here today, we have to commend our policemen and women who work hard every day to ensure that drugs like cocaine and cannabis do not get in the hands of the wrong people.”

The various containers in which the drugs were stored and packaged were also destroyed; these included buckets, bales, backpacks, suitcases, food containers, newspapers and courier packs.

Miller used the opportunity to caution persons involved, or who hope to get involved in the drug trade to desist from doing so, because ultimately they will be caught.

“I must appeal to people who are bent on getting involved in cultivation, use and abuse of drugs, and also the movement of drugs from place to place, to desist from doing that; there is no legal and rightful benefit to be derived from the use of drugs.

“Persons may be indulged for a period, but sometime, somewhere down the road they will be caught. And we can see what is happening; there is a history where our main drug perpetrators, they are either behind bars or they are being monitored closely, so it’s only a matter of time before our law enforcement agencies apprehend persons who are perpetrating drugs unlawfully; so I really want to send a strong warning to persons who may be inclined.

“Do not even think about getting involved in the movement of drugs in and out of St Vincent and the Grenadines, because once we have the intelligence, we will be pursuing what we have to bring that person to justice.”

The last destruction by fire was in 2011 at the same venue.(JJ)