OECS launch new initiative to stamp out drugs

The nine-member Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) countries are pooling their resources to establish a new initiative aimed at stamping out the illegal drugs trade in the sub-region.



Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister, Patrick Manning said the initiative was launched based on an understanding that the drug trade was responsible for much of the crime in the region.



He said Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago have instituted their own security measures, including air patrols that will be bolstered by the acquisition of new equipment including radar systems.



Prime Minister Manning said both countries would be acquiring patrol boats.



The United States, Britain, Holland and France are also assisting in the plan to keep the Eastern Caribbean as drug free as possible.



The plan also includes extending the radar system to other Caribbean islands such as Antigua and Barbuda, St. Kitts and Nevis.