Cops net 673lbs ganja at sea

(CNS): Three Jamaican men were charged last week with possession of and trying to import ganja into the Cayman Islands after the canoe they were on was interdicted by marine cops. On 12 March the RCIPS helicopter, which was on proactive patrol, spotted the boat with the men on board around 30-40 miles from Grand Cayman. When they saw the police chopper the canoe sped up and the men began throwing packages into the sea.

The RCIPS Air Operations Unit crew in the helicopter notified the Joint Marine Unit vessel, MV Mark Luke, which was on the same patrol. The JMU raced to the location and intercepted the suspicious vessel, after which the officers boarded the boat and arrested the three men, aged 51, 49 and 39.

The JMU recovered 46 packages from the sea nearby, which were later found to contain about 673lbs of ganja. They also towed the canoe to Grand Cayman.

The men were subsequently charged with ‘possession of ganja knowing or having reasonable grounds to suspect that the drug is intended to be imported into the Cayman Islands’. They appeared in court Monday, where they were remanded in custody until 24 March.

See RCIPS video of the interception below: