Don’t be tempted, warns narcotics chief - Couriers see uptick in smuggling attempts as pandemic restricts mules
Published:Sunday | December 20, 2020 | 12:24 AM
Criminals continue to use the island’s courier services to smuggle packages of cocaine and ganja across ports, sparking particular concern for law enforcement as the Christmas frenzy and COVID-19-induced economic desperation brew.
Since January, there have been more than 504 drug seizures at courier services, including at the Central Sorting Office, FedEx, DHL and AMJET Cargo Warehouse locally. More than 357 cases of ganja, weighing 292 kilograms; a small quantity of cash; and 127 cases of cocaine with a weight of 21.5 kilograms and local value of $25,860,000 have been seized.
Head of the Police Narcotics Unit, Senior Superintendent Jervis Moore, said that while the practice is not new, the impact of the COVID-19 containment measures has made many Jamaicans more desperate, especially during the festive season.
“We have seen an uptick of people sending drugs through letters, packages. They send a quarter pound of cocaine in small packages. It might not be a lot at one time, but, ultimately, it adds up,” Moore explained, adding that the increase this year started about mid-October.
“Why that had become a more lucrative way of doing things is that the airports were locked down so the [drug] mules were not able to travel as they used to because of the coronavirus,” he explained, adding that the police have been working closely with other state agencies to detect and investigate attempts to smuggle drugs by courier.
Data from Jamaica Post revealed that 30 per cent of drug-smuggling attempts through courier service were mostly destined for the US, England and Canada. France, Barbados and Germany were also prime destinations.
HIGH PENALTIES
“Keeping cocaine in Jamaica is of no value to you, so it has to go overseas. But we are warning persons not to get involved, because the penalties are very high here, and if you are caught overseas, they are even greater,” Moore said.
“There’s also the possibility that if you ingest one of these parcels of cocaine and it should burst, you could lose your life,” said the senior officer, empathising with hard-pressed individuals feeling the financial pressure from the pandemic, who are prime targets of drug mule recruitment.
The Statistical Institute of Jamaica in October reported that 57 per cent of Jamaican households saw a reduction in income between the onset of the coronavirus in March and September. The decline was also most prevalent in the ‘other urban centres’ – inclusive of areas generally populated by tourists.
Of those households that lost their income, roughly 40,000 have sought government aid. Another 27,000 households resorted to taking a loan from a friend, neighbour or family member, and 14,000 households started additional income-generating activities.