Bahamas News

Illegal drugs valued at an estimated three million dollars have been seized by drug enforcement officers on a sailboat anchored off the coast of a Family Island.

The seizure, which occurred on Friday night and marks the second major bust of its kind since last week’s seven million dollar find, was made after DEU officers intercepted a 42 ft sailboat in Eleuthera, according to press liaison officer ASP Walter Evans.

Evans said that after officers boarded the vessel, they found 226 kilos of cocaine in the boat’s cabin.

Two French Canadian men aged 61 and 57 were arrested in connection with the find. Their names were not released for publication but the ASP revealed that they will both appear in court as early as today.

He also said that the drug bust was a collaborative effort between Bahamian home security, Canada and The United States. He declined to release further information in order to maintain the integrity of ongoing investigations into the drug bust.

Last week $7 million dollars worth of contraband was seized by DEU. The Police were alerted to suspicious activities at a storage facility on Grand Bahama around 9 a.m. on June 17. Both men and women were reportedly seen in the area with firearms and bags containing the illegal drugs.

Officers were dispatched to the scene and conducted a search of the area, but no one was found. However, it was discovered that locks to a unit of the storage facility had been broken off, and a search of the building uncovered a number of bags containing money, drugs and weapons, which included six 7.62 rifles, four 9mm pistols, three shot guns and a .38 pistol.

During a press conference given by the police force to discuss the find, Police Commissioner Paul Farquharson commented that the seizure spoke volumes about the commitment and dedication of the Royal Bahamas Police Force to keeping the country safe. “However, it also speaks of the reality and dangers that police officers face on a daily basis; the reality of coming face-to-face with dangerous criminals armed with high-powered weapons that have no regard for life. One can only imagine the negative fall-out and bloodshed that could have resulted, had these weapons not been discovered,” Farquharson reported.

He said the law must have “more teeth” in it to deal with these major criminals in the interest of peace, safety and the national security of The Bahamas.

A week later police said that they had three men in custody, two appeared before magistrate Carolita Bethel the following week and were charged with 24 counts of illegal possession of firearms and four counts of conspiracy to possess a significant amount of cocaine and marijuana.

By Nadine Thomas-Brown
The Nassayu Guardian