THE NUMBER of cocaine couriers arrested in Jamaica has more than doubled in a year, thanks to "Operation Airbridge", British Customs states.
"Airbridge" is a successful partnership between UK Customs, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and the Jamaican authorities to stop cocaine mules boarding flights in Jamaica destined for the UK.
New figures were announced on July 13 at the Association of Chief Police Officers' (ACPO) Conference in Blackpool, England, Derek Bradon, Customs Head of Drugs Policy Implementation.
The figures revealed that between June 2002 and May 2003 the number of "cocaine swallowers" arrested in Jamaica had more than doubled, up from 82 in the previous 12 months to 216; and the number of swallowers arrested in the UK fell by 75 per cent compared with the same period in 2001/02.
ASSESSMENTS
According to Her Majesty's Customs and Excise, latest intelligence assessments from the National Criminal Intelligence Service show that law enforcement action under this new initiative is deterring would-be drug couriers from travelling to the UK, and that this is significantly driving up the price of sending them. Further evidence shows that enforcement action had forced criminals to seek potential couriers from other countries to transport their drugs.
John Healey, Britain's Economic Secretary to the Treasury and Customs Minister, said: "We are hitting the smugglers where it hurts, disrupting the supply of cocaine to the UK before they even get on the plane.
"The Jamaican authorities' willingness to tackle this problem has been the overwhelming factor in stopping this type of smuggling.
"This partnership has been an important success and we are now extending our support to other islands in the Caribbean."
INITIATIVE
The "Airbridge" initiative was announced in May last year and involves the use of ion scan technology at Jamaican airports that can detect passengers travelling to the UK who test positive for cocaine. The operation also included a two-million pound investment by the UK Government to create a new Customs mobile strike force team to reinforce frontier controls at UK airports.
To help the governments of other islands in the Caribbean to deal with the problem, in April 2003, the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office provided similar technology.
Bill Rammell, the UK's Foreign Office Minister, said: "This has been a very successful operation. Drug trafficking does serious harm to the societies and economies of Caribbean countries and contributes directly to violent crime in the UK. Close partnership between the FCO, Customs and the Home Office helps the government to combat this threat to our own society and to help the countries of the Caribbean protect themselves."
The co-operation with international partners, in this case to tackle the movement of small amounts of cocaine by a large number of couriers, is one aspect of the approach taken by Customs to hit smugglers whenever and wherever they can, disrupting the supply to the UK. At the other end of the scale, since March 2003, Customs, working with law enforcement partners, has seized over eight tonnes of cocaine, all in large consignments, both in the UK and overseas.
"We will continue tackling international drug smugglers and organised crime across the Caribbean, Healey said, because they constantly change their routes and methods. The smugglers have nowhere to hide with Customs working in intelligence-led partnerships with other agencies and countries. Only last month following work by Customs and the United States authorities, the Royal Navy seized 3.3 tonnes of cocaine, worth 250 million pounds, from a ship south west of St. Lucia."
STRATEGY
As part of an overall strategy to tackle Class A drugs supply, UK Customs continue to stop drug cocaine traffickers when they try and enter the UK by using the latest technology and crime detection methods.
Since June 2002, the Jamaica Constabulary Force has used ion scan technology supplied by the UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office to test selected passengers flying from Jamaica to the UK, for the presence of cocaine
The partnership has been an outstanding success and will continue, keeping up the pressure on the drugs traffickers in both Jamaica and the UK, HMCE said.
"We remain alert to the smuggling of cocaine by courier from all routes, not only Jamaica. The UK (FCO) provided similar technology and training to other Caribbean islands to deal with the problem in April 2003".
