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November 2002

The Islands of Bermuda have a massive drug problem

the Royal Gazette Report  (for the full story, click here)

Police and Customs have seized a massive $40 million worth of drugs so far this year

During the month of October alone, ten men and women were arrested at Bermuda International Airport after allegedly swallowing quantities of drugs in an attempt to smuggle them onto the Island, the number of incidents is rising – and most of them are originating out of Jamaica,

Supt. Larry Smith said: “Now the cruise ship season is over, we are finding that drug importation is returning, with some degree of consistency, to Bermuda International Airport, especially by people we term as swallowers.

Bermuda has seen a massive increase in its drugs haul this year, resulting in a 100 percent increase in the worth of seizures so far this year on the whole of last year:

81 seizures were made on the cruise ships alone, up from 3 during the 2001 season.

“But I also think that some people consider it one of the easier methods of avoiding detection. But it’s through targeting and intelligence, along with watching for the signs in human behaviour and gut instinct on our part, that gives us results.

comment: was 'gut reaction', when referring to 'swallowers' supposed to be funny Larry?

Supt. Smith said the theory was that just about ten percent of drugs were seized as they entered any country, and that made frightening statistics for the Island. “If we only seize ten percent of drugs that are arriving here, then we have a serious problem,” said the chief. “That means that about $400 million worth of drugs are destined for this country, and once they arrive they do not leave again, as they do in some countries. Even if we have seized 20 percent this year, that is still a lot that we are not getting.
“That means that this country has a major problem, and that should cause a lot of concern to this country.”

comment: well done Larry, we assume you read this site before coming to that conclusion?

$400,000,000 for a population of about 65,000?  about $6500 / annum per person.... is that an world record for Bermuda?

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