|
July 2004 Five face $40m drug conspiracy charges for the full
story, click on the Gazette's icon:
Comment: We had initially presumed the police had actually intercepted theis massive haul of cannabis. This is not the case. All that has been provided is the allegedly self-incriminating statements of some of the defendants and related paraphernalia - including an impounded charter fishing boat. Our sincere thanks to those who have corrected this article. So Bermuda is now to prosecute on this type of evidence. Odd, they did not in 1989 when Colin Smith was arrested - an enquiry involving a sergeant (now - 2004 - Commissioner of Police!) Smith. A précis of the case can be found under the heading 'Jon-boy Smith' and the police diary entries for the arrest and subsequent activity can be found by clicking on June 1989 diary. despite the author of this site obtaining a confession from Colin Smith, the case was never proceeded with. Just who is protecting whom on the island? With regard to the latest seizure, if the supply is is representative of the demand, either there are some heavy users / abusers of cannabis on the island, or many small time participants! Just how did the importers expect to keep such a large amount secret on an island of 60,000 inhabitants, many of whom would 'grass' (inform on) someone to avoid prosecution if caught with an trivial amount? Is anyone on the island looking at the bigger picture?It sounds as is the venture was in its preparatory state. Let's see who appears in Court next in connection with this ... if anyone. With this little group, the place to start looking is the finances; the logistics of this operation were substantial. A problem with Bermuda though is that they have historically had an inability to see beyond their own noses; lack of expertise, initiative, imagination and desire or incentive (on the part of some)? How does the weight of 2000 lbs seized represent $40,000,000? Easily, one only need do the maths by reference to values detailed at the linked page (cannabis) to understand the figures and the incredible profits. For simplicity, the calculation is as follows: Firstly, pounds and ounces are the units of measure generally associated with larger amounts in Bermuda, grams are generally the street weights. Therefore, the $40,000,000 cited is a street value which is extremely misleading as it is hardly likely the importers would then ply their wares personally. However, to assist ...
now consider how the drug is sold on the street in Bermuda; by the half gram in a manila envelope for $25. Amazingly, the price has not gone up in over 10 years suggesting that the supply has increased (basic application of the rules of supply and demand). Using the above facts, the calculation is undertaken:
which is about 30 half gram bags per head of population, at a cost of about $750 per head. and what do you think the importers paid for the drug? In that bulk, who knows, ua$1000 per kilo? If so, there being 2.2 lbs to the kilo, the costs was a little shy of $1,000,000. A substantial amount, but look at the profit (at street level). We would suggest that the drug was far more likely to be sold off in pounds (lbs) or half ponds. A half pond weight would sell for about $2300 in the summer, but the importers could afford to take less to move the quantities. If sold at $2,000 per half pound, the figures are as follows:
the above figures do not take into account the costs associated with the operation however, the cost of the drug may have been considerably lower than that quoted. Possibly it is time for Bermuda to consider just how a big a drug problem they have! For articles on the cannabis trade (outside of Bermuda) , click on the following links: |
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
|
IMPORTANT NOTICE:
Bermuda.org.uk has taken reasonable care in sourcing
and presenting the information contained on this site, but accepts no
responsibility for any financial or other loss or damage that may result from
its use. Bermuda.org.uk is not an official or authorised
Bermuda police web site.
|