Cops reaping success in war on illegal drugs

More than 750 pounds of cocaine, valued at over $400 million, has been seized by the Police Narcotics Division so far this year.

Just over 18,000 pounds of ganja, with a street value of $72.7 million, has also been seized so far this year.

In the latest incident, following a seven-hour search of a house in the upscale Caribbean Estate housing development last Friday, the narcotics police scored its biggest drug haul this year, when 77 kilograms of cocaine, valued at $92.8 million, was seized.

A 36-year-old man, who investigators say is unemployed, was arrested in connection with the drugs.

The police say he will be charged with possession of, dealing in and taking steps to export cocaine after he is questioned in the presence of his attorney.

Senior Superintendent McArthur Sutherland, head of the Police Narcotics Division, said his team has adopted a more robust approach to tracking members of the criminal underworld who are involved in the drug trade.

"We are extremely focused on what is going on and we act on every bit of investigative leads that we acquire," Sutherland told The Sunday Gleaner.

"We believe that the seizure of some drugs at the airport is not an event ... we don't see it as a big event like one time when we would have celebrated that seizure. We see that as a trigger, a starting point for something else," he added.