Youths warned: Don’t to be fooled

by Adrian codogan 12.JAN.07

If you do the crime, you will do the time, the police have assured drug traffickers and dealers.

“Don’t be fooled, the drug squad, RRU, SSU, CID and FIU are all waiting for you, prison may be your final destination,” was the unequivocal warning from this country’s drug crime Czar Assistant Superintendent of Police Michael Charles.

He told a panel discussion hosted by the Center for Adult and Continuing Education (CACE) at the Barrouallie Secondary School January 5 that crack cocaine and marijuana are the two most abused illegal substances in SVG while alcohol and tobacco are gateway drugs.{{more}}

Using a Powerpoint presentation he discussed the legal issues related to drug abuse in SVG, which was well received by the audience. The Head of the Narcotics Unit of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force also had many eye-openers for the CACE’s Barrouallie students. He pointed out that if one were to be found with a spliff or one rock of cocaine within 100 meters of a school that person will be deemed a drug trafficker and if convicted at the Magistrate’s Court will be liable to pay a fine of either $100,000 to $300,000 or three years in prison or both.

He also presented photographs of the various illegal drugs and the means used to hide and transport them. Of particular interest was a photograph of a package of pure cocaine powder with a logo of a tiger on it, the logo identifies the cartel in Venezuela from which the drugs were shipped, the trafficker has since been convicted and is serving time at Her Majesty’s Prison.

The panel discussion themed “Empowering Young People to Take Charge” also had presentations from Sunil Jack of the Ministry of Health and the Environment who spoke on the topic “Commonly Abused Drugs in SVG and their Effects on the Individual”. Teacher and Social Worker Allan Burnette of Marion House spoke on the “Social and Emotional Consequences of Drug Abuse”.

Cocaine packaged in condoms for cross-border transport by female drugmules in their body orifices.

P John a teacher at the Barrouallie Secondary School and Coordinator of CACE said these sessions were designed to give CXC students a more holistic approach where other disciplines and life’s experiences are learnt. CACE will host a workshop for small businesses in Barrouallie in February to deal with the Value Added Tax (VAT).