CBC bags more drugs at post office

(CNS): The Customs and Border Control Agency arrested three people last week in another drug bust that involved the misuse of the postal service. On Monday, 24 June, officers at the courier section examining international packages selected several for inspection, one of which was described as containing clothes from the US, but inside officers found about 11lbs of ganja.

The narcotics team then carried out a sting operation with the police to track the delivery of the package and rounded up the suspects. 

A 35-year-old Jamaican man employed as a security officer was arrested for the importation of ganja. A 45-year-old Jamaican woman and a 23-year-old Jamaican man who were both arrested for possession and being concerned in the importation of ganja.

Deputy CBC Director Jeff Jackson said this was the eighth arrest in the past few weeks in relation to contraband in the mail. He said it demonstrated that officers were doing their jobs effectively when processing parcels and mail at the post offices and courier centres. 

“With faster shipping times and the increased volume of packages being shipped each year using these services, dealers attempt to circumvent our controls by using creative methods of concealment to facilitate their illegal shipments,” he said, adding that the investigation in this case was continuing. 

The news follows a release from CBC this weekend outlining a case involving Cayman’s largest ever haul of ecstasy and concerns that club drugs including Ketamine could be making their way on to our shores.

Deputy CBC Director Kevin Walton, who has responsibility and oversight of the Trade and Revenue Portfolio, which includes the Courier and Parcel Post sections, said that his section was stepping up their work to counter the move by smugglers to use the postal service.

“It has become a popular trend among dealers to use the postal and courier services to transport contraband which are concealed in cards and harmless-looking packages,” he said. “Through our proactive efforts we are working very closely on the ground with partner agencies to put additional layers of security in place and we are seeing the results of these increased measures.”