Sav residents apprehend suspected smugglers
Published:Sunday | February 14, 2021 | 12:26 AMHopeton Bucknor - Sunday Gleaner Writer
Two Nicaraguan nationals suspected to be major players in the illegal drug trade were held by residents in Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland, and handed over to the police yesterday morning.
A speed boat suspected to have been used by the men to traffic drugs was also seized by the police, who are searching for a third man, who managed to escape in the area.
Reports by the police are that, shortly after 1 a.m., several residents at a section of Savanna-la-Mar noticed a strange boat sailing in to shore and then detected strange movements from two men who alighted from the vessel.
The residents went to investigate and, upon reaching a section of the beach, they deemed the men to be carrying out suspicious activities and held on to them as they questioned them and summoned the police.
Boat abandoned
A third man, who was left behind on the boat and was in the process of coming ashore, jumped back into the boat and sped off towards another section of the beach after realising that his associates had been apprehended.
When the police arrived, the two men were handed over and a search of the area led to the discovery of the 20-foot boat abandoned along the shore. It was equipped with navigating instruments and several drums of petrol.
Superintendent Robert Gordon, commanding officer in charge of the Westmoreland Police Division, told The Sunday Gleaner that, based on the point of illegal entry and the evidence found inside the boat, the men may be major players in the drug trade.
“When someone enters your shores without going through the proper channels, and especially travelling in this manner, one can detect from that that their ... intent [is of a] criminal nature, and one such nature is trafficking of drugs,” Gordon said.
He applauded the residents of Savanna-la-Mar for their vigilance and urged other citizens to notify the police of any strange activities within their space.
“I also want residents in the area to know that harbouring a person who is being sought by the police is a felony, and that individual will be treated with according to law,” the senior cop added.
On November 19, 2019, three Honduran nationals were taken into custody by the Jamaica Defence Force Coast Guard off the coast of Negril and a boat containing 656 pounds of compressed ganja worth $2.5 million seized.
The men – three Hondurans and two Jamaicans – were charged for breaches of the Dangerous Drugs Act and brought before the court. The three foreign nationals were deported back home in early 2020.