Boat owner upset over drug bust

Peter Ollivierre is hopping mad that his boat has been caught up in a TT$4.3 million (EC$2.15 million) drug bust in Trinidad and Tobago.{{more}}

Michael Clement, 49, of Grenada and Norman Nanton, 51, of St Vincent and the Grenadines, the captain and cook of the vessel MV Bell respectively, will face a San Fernando Magistrate to answer charges in relation to the drug find.

According to the Trinidad Express of Tuesday, March 10, 2009, Trinidad Custom Officers, acting on a tip, raided the vessel on the night of Thursday, March 5, after the vessel was filled with cement from Trinidad Cement Limited (TCL) bound for St Lucia.

The Express further reported that the drugs were allegedly found in an area occupied by Nanton and weighed 10.76 kilogrammes.

“I am very disappointed. My vessel is laid up and my business is being affected for that foolishness,” Ollivierre told SEARCHLIGHT.

Ollivierre said that now his vessel will be looked at on a regular basis and he is very upset that his cargo is held up and his customers disadvantaged over the incident.

“I don’t know why people allow themselves to be mules like that. No one will come to me with that foolishness because I won’t condone it. I see what drugs do to people and their families,” Ollivierre said.

Clement is charged with attempting to export prohibited goods while Nanton faces that charge in addition to knowingly harbouring the drugs and possession of the drugs for the purpose of trafficking.

All Ollivierre is hoping now is that the stain of the drugs find does not affect the future of his business and the relationship he has with his clients.