Police tightening up water patrols between SVG, St Lucia

Police patrols of the waters between St Vincent and the Grenadines and St Lucia are expected to increase, says Commissioner of Police Keith Miller.{{more}}

“We have decided to tighten our presence between the waters of the north-eastern side of St Vincent and View Fort and the other southern districts of St Lucia, because we have intel[ligence] that Vieux Fort seems to be a launching pad for St Lucians coming across here,” Miller told reporters on Tuesday.

The Commissoner was speaking at the Rabacca Dry River during the burning of over EC$20 million worth of marijuana and cocaine.

“If I remember well, two of the persons who got killed in the hills, they were foreigners, they are St Lucians.”

The Commissioner said that he was in contact with his counterpart in St Lucia, Vernon Francois, whom he thanked for the apprehension of Vincentian fugitive Wilford Woodley.

Woodley escaped lawful custody from the High Court in Kingstown in February 2010, after being apprehended for a string of armed robberies in the city.

“We also have three St Lucians who will be taken back to St Lucia today. Two of them were involved in drugs and it’s just yesterday, two persons were taken to the court, and they were fined for the possession of illegal drugs, and they were not able to pay the fines, so they are at prisons,” the Commissioner added.

Miller indicated that the increased water patrols would be performed mainly by the St Vincent and the Grenadines Coastguard, whose new vessels he said, are performing well.

“We have to thank the American government, through our government here, for the interceptors, and from all reports, they are serving us well so far…. What we are hearing from the commander of the coastguard is that since these boats are on the waters, the activities out there are not as prevalent as prior to the delivery of those boats.

“The RIHBS we had previously did not possess the capability that these interceptors have now….” Miller said.(JJ)