The Jamaica Observer last evening reported that cocaine weighing 122.65 kilogrammes was seized yesterday morning at Port Bustamante in Kingston aboard a vessel arriving from Guyana.
The seizure was made by the Customs Department yesterday morning after a routine examination of a transshipment vessel, Vega Azurit from Guyana, which arrived at Berth 9 at 5:00 am.
A street value of more than J$217M has been assigned to the shipment.
The newspaper said that the Jamaica Customs in a statement last evening said that no arrests have been made but that preliminary investigations suggest that the contraband was destined for Jamaica.
The packages have been handed over to the Trans National Crime and Narcotics Division (TNCD) of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) for further examination and investigation.
Cocaine has flowed out of Guyana in a variety of ways. In December 2008 there was a CDN$40M drug bust in Ontario, Canada. The drugs were stashed in a consignment of pepper sauce which was shipped from Guyana to New Brunswick in Canada. No charges were brought in this case. Days later, a second shipment of cocaine hidden among pepper sauce bottles from Guyana were found on a ship in St Croix, US Virgin Islands.
There have also been frequent interceptions at airports overseas.
