By Erica James-King, Staff Reporter WESTERN BUREAU:
IN A new twist involving the recent massive drug haul in Hanover, the man in whose vehicle the approximately 1,600 pounds of cocaine was allegedly seized, has turned himself in to the police.
Reports from the police are that the man who owns the Toyota Hiace van, in which the drugs was found, turned himself in to the Area 1 Narcotics police on Monday.
The man in question, Lloyd Anthony Smith, of a Sandy Bay address, Hanover is still in police custody and is being interrogated by the crime fighters but, up to press time, he had not been arrested or charged.
ACCOMPANIED BY LAWYER
The Area 1 police said that Smith was accompanied by his lawyer, when he turned himself in to the law enforcers.
On August ninth, the Area 1 Narcotics police, assisted by the Jamaica Defence Force Air Wing seized 1,596 pounds of cocaine with a street value of $100 million in Tamarind Hill, Hanover, that they believe is linked to the drug trade between Jamaica and Columbia.
The seizure marked the culmination of a three-day special operation by the narcotics police in the parish. Reports are that the Area One narcotics police, assisted by the Jamaica Defence Force Air Wing, went to Tamarind Hill.
A blue Toyota Hiace panel van, of which the police were in pursuit, was noticed parked in an open lot. The vehicle was reportedly searched and 26 bales of cocaine weighing 1,596 pounds (725 kilograms) was found.
