Three Arrested: $13 Million Worth of Drugs
Three Bermudians were arrested by officials aboard a boat in the Caribbean sea, with a significant quantity of cannabis and cannabis resin, which officials estimate has a street value in Bermuda in excess of $13 million.
The U.S. Coast Guard intercepted a 34 foot Bermuda owned and registered sloop in international waters in the Caribbean, as a result of a joint operation between RCC Bermuda, H.M. Customs Bermuda, Bermuda Police Service and other law enforcement agencies in the USA.
The vessel had sailed from Bermuda with a crew of three Bermudians on board at which time its stated destination was the Caribbean. A Police spokesman said that “At the time of its interception it appeared to have been leaving the Caribbean area. Upon searching the vessel, a significant quantity of cannabis and cannabis resin was discovered on board. Initial estimates of the street value in Bermuda of the illegal drug are in excess of $13 million.”
The vessel has been seized by the Coast Guard and the three Bermudian crew members detained. When jurisdictional rights have been agreed upon, the crew is expected to face prosecution, possibly in the USA, whereupon H.M. Customs and the Bermuda Police Service will continue to provide all necessary support.
Update 1:50pm: We have edited the dates, and are awaiting clarification from officials on the dates of the boat leaving/arrested. We expect that this afternoon.
Update 2:30pm: Officials have clarified the dates, with Police Spokesman Dwayne Caines saying “The boat left Bermuda on November 16th 2010 and was intercepted on December 13 2010.”
Update Dec 23: The U.S. Coast Guard issued a statement which appears to pertain to this incident.
So glad that this haul won’t be hitting our streets. Praise the Lord!
This is a Christmas present. One less mother’s child exposed to this abuse and short track to a suicidal life.
abuse and suicidal life, a lil strong there
Congratulations, $13 million worth of marijuana seized, Bermuda has done nothing to lower the demand and have only increased the price of marijuana by limiting the supply. The ‘war on drugs’ against marijuana is full of hypocrisy, propaganda, and corruption, and has nothing to do with ones health or public safety, and only money. Illegal or not, people will abuse drugs, and those people need rehabilitation, not punishment, either way the public would be paying for them to be in hospital or prison, and it will still cost money, lets not forget money is the governing factor here. Most people do not abuse marijuana, and are not endangering the lives of anyone else while using it, and in most cases it makes the user feel happy and relaxed, which is a good thing. If it does not make you feel happy or relaxed, there is no point to smoke it, so don’t, because marijuana is not addictive. The only real dangerous thing about marijuana are the drug dealers who stand to make a very lucrative profit from it, and by taking away some of the competition ($13 Million dollars worth), smoking marijuana just became a little more dangerous and a lot more profitable in Bermuda, congratulations.
As anoyone who has taken even middle school econ can tell you raising the price has the same effect on quantity sold as decreasing the demand.
Dave, good thing they don’t teach about drugs in middle school econ class, but I think what ‘truth be told’ was trying to say was that while yes, the supply has gone down and price has gone up, people will still want to smoke weed (demand). While it may decrease the over all quantity sold, I can assure you the same amount of people will be smoking weed, just less of it. Basically, this seizure had no effect on how many people smoke weed, which should be the real issue here! Plus, some desperate people will have to come up with the money some how, such as breaking into your house and such, because we all know people who smoke weed are all low life good for nothing bums, right???
To “Truth be Told”. Now here is someone whose opinion is based on facts and not hype or ignorance. It just a shame that there aren’t enough of us critical thinkers out there that can make a difference at the policy level, so this ignorance can stop.
And to the others who don’t quite get what “Truth be Told” is saying: If you all truly want to see crime in Bermuda cut by about 80% tomorrow, just legalize all drugs. That will take the profit out of it. By contrast, can you imagine if cigarette smokers were to pay $50 for a 1/2 of a cigarette. Imagine where your crime rate would be. If you all still cant make the correlation, just reverse that thought, and apply it to crack. Enough said, if you haven’t got it yet you will never get it. That is why you are not a critical thinker but someone whose opinion is only based on brain washed education.
I’m sorry Antoinette, I have never known of anyone that wanted to commit suicide over cannibas!
wow ! our police have done well but they should be busting the guns and dope , dam a lil weed and gum aint hurt nobody .
I agree.
“Our” police? The US police made the bust.
so how does this work? is USCG the international police responsible for stamping out crime on the high seas? what law is to be applied, maybe US, but the ‘crime’ took place in international waters…..hummmmm sorry to show my ignorance but who has juristiction of international waters???? If I have a rocket launcher on my boat which happens to be cruising outside of BDA 250mile range, can BDA police arrest me?
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2250/in-international-waters-are-you-beyond-the-reach-of-the-law
itwasn’t me,
“hummmmm sorry to show my ignorance but who has juristiction of international waters???? If I have a rocket launcher on my boat which happens to be cruising outside of BDA 250mile range, can BDA police arrest me?”
For your stupidity, no one in their right mind should attempt to arrest you but shoot first, sink and than ask questions. It’s called Homeland Security.
yeah? and for your stupidity I hope you ‘shoot’ first, then I’ll fire and blow your azz up. now hows dat for stupid……stupid!
Any country can declare jurisdiction in international waters, however as a rule of thumb the country in which the ship or aircraft is registered is given first dibs.
If that is not possible then the country who caught the person is next. However one can still be sent to any country for trial.
Thanks for clarification J. Dill….I think the US will want to follow through with prosecution and sentencing as they love the prestege of catching Big Game. The only question I have unanswered, who the heck on this island has the $$$$$ to finance such a venture? I wonder what names will be associated with this mess.
Well thats the million $$ question..WHO HAS FINANCED these kinds of ventures all these years????…THE DRUGS ARE HERE BECUASE THEY WANT THEM HERE!
(as posted on Facebook) Throw the book at them.. And how long have people been screaming to increase the security on the docks? I wish they had just let the boat make its way here just to see where is docked and how & who handled offloading the bounty!! Than there’d have been more than 3 facing charges. *smh* *mms
This just seems a lil bit dumb!…….who be sailing the seven seas in this weather this time of the year?!?!?…..
Sorry, there will be No Cully Buddzing this Xmas!
But…..there isn’t nuffin wrong wiff weed anyway….It smells better than Scotch to be honest
licks is trumps for the perpetrators…hahaha
Damn it…that means my veed is gonna go up over Christmas!!!
Every time they remove the supply of weed like this, crime goes up.
Don’t be surprised if their are more shootings because they will be fighting over what supplies is left. It is unfortunate that crime goes up when drug supplies are decreased, but hey that’s just the way it is.
Nah…just keep ‘trolling’ ..you’ll be fine.
The funny thing is, this will be a massive loss to whom ever fronted the money. The knock on effect is not a safe Bermuda, but an inflated street price,a shortage in which rival Gangs will rob and kill each other in order to recoup losses.
Ever wonder why these reported ‘home invasions’ in the paper seem to invlove a large number of armed individuals but nothing is actually reported stolen. And the answer is!!
Legalize / decriminalize the erb and the world will be a better / safer place.
Bermyman, I’m ducking just reading your post! scary man, very scary
You are so right sad to say but I wonder how many shooting it will be before the new year….?!
My prayers go out to the mothers who will now lose their sons, the children who will lose their fathers and our society who loses yet another 3 young men to the drug trade. Men who will not be productive contributors to the Bermuda community but to that of some unknown US prison. This is nothing to be happy about. We should all be sad…very sad. Men without opportunity making poor choices. I feel for them and all those family members / friends in their wake.
hard to feel sorry for them….parents didn’t do their jobs and since the clowns are adults that know right from wrong, they know the risks and results if they are caught. These guys left BDA for the ‘carribean’ and did a quick turn-around. The got themselves caught….
Are you retarted? These fools are not young 32-40+ yrs
Are you retarded? These fools are not young 32-40+ yrs
Good for the authorities. Throw the book at them then lock em up for a long long time.
Something does not sit right with the timing.
The boat, a 34′sloop departed Bermuda 12/16, last Thursday. It gets caught, loaded, in the Carribean Sea yesterday, only 5 days later. It has been somewhere loaded up & is on its way back…right?
Here is the rub. The Carribean Sea is well over 1000 miles south of here. That is well over 200 miles per day. The boat would have to average over 10kts to have a hope of even being close to making that distance in that time.
34′ sloops RACING in the Newport or Marion races have a tough time making the 700 miles to Bermuda in 5 days. The big fast boats need 3 1/2days. These are full crewed boats sailed by experienced people.
I am not a sailor, though I have helped with the finish line of the Bermuda races for many years.
There must be a few bluewater sailors reading these dates of events & going Hmmmmm, something is not adding up right.
agreed…..they must have done a rendezvue (sic) at sea. No way they got to even puerto rico that fast (closest island going south)
Triangle Drifter:
Very fast indeed but at this time of year with a good breeze 8.3 kt speed over a 24hour period is achievable = 200nm they are also not racing, so nothing but $$ stopping them from putting the engine on and driving in a straight line. Which judging by the urgency of the situation I am sure they did.
Bernews says the interception occurred yesterday (21st) while the Gazette is reporting the interception occurred on December 13th. The Gazette also says the boat left Bermuda on December 16th. Someone really needs to get all the facts str8 then.
Agreed. Seeking to do so, added an update until officials get back to us. RG is just reporting as we were told….
Officials should be back soon with clarification….
@Triange Drifter….you are correct. Officials have clarified dates as “The boat left Bermuda on November 16th 2010 and was intercepted on December 13 2010.”
Excellent research and piece Scott detailing the ownership of jurisdiction. Very interesting and confirmed the brief synopsis provided by J. Dill who obviously knew what she was talking about. Unfortunate part though is that those wanting to offer substantive comment cannot read or understand the language contained therein.
lol i had to sift through a lot to get to the useful summary… but then i saw j.dill had nicely done it
Triangle Drifter –
I read from another source that they actually left the island on the 13th, not the 16th (so Bernews has it wrong, I think) and the news on the radio at 1pm said the same thing – left the island on the 13th – so this timing is reasonable.
Thank you though for the nautical lesson!
Actually, we are quoting the Police direct on the date; “The vessel had sailed from Bermuda on the 16th December.”
The confusion can come in as they also said “On Monday the 13th December 2010, the United States Coast Guard intercepted a 34 foot Bermuda owned”
We are waiting on clarification. International incident, different agencies, so not as quick as normal, but we expect something soon.
Sara…please get real. Dealers make big bucks, ‘pushers’ maybe 2/3 thousand a week.
Damn..guys gotta make a living yah no. When not on duty, they have to buy the ’round’, pay for the ‘finger nails’, hook up dee ride and take breakfast to Granny at ‘little RED riding HOODS crib.
Get with it.
Ps.Plus cell phone, imported carrotts, and gold chains…..jingus………………..
What did what Sara have to say have anything to do with how much money they make? You are the last person to tell ANYONE to “get real”.
Also while I’m here, it’s “a great day to all”, not “too all”. That drives me mental. I may start talking like you if I keep coming across your comments..
Like I aid Terry, you don’t make sense when you post. You talk in riddles similar to someone named rummy on another forum.
Terry, let me bring you back to earth.
How much do they make when their supply is gone????? Nothing!! This is EXACTLY why crime will increase when supply gets low. It rally isn’t rocket science people. Basic economics of supply and demand
Ah!!! You lot finally comming rahn two starboard.
Oh well…back to my cell……….
I work in St. George and my colleagues and I have said for years that the customs’ yacht reporting center needs to do a better job at drug interdiction. We watch the sail boats arrive every day and not one of them are ever searched…unless they are Bermudian and that is once in a blue moon. How many of these big hauls actually make it on the island because they aren’t ‘locals’? On top of that, the YRC closes at 10pm so if a boat arrives after that, they are instructed to go to anchor until 8am when they open. So we have can have these people here on the island unmonitored or processed for up to 10hrs. In fact many tie up to the dock overnight to await customs’ arrival in the morning. 10hrs is plenty time to get rid of a boatful of drugs or guns (yes many yachts carry weapons which they are supposed to “voluntarily’ turn in to the YRC until their departure) in the dead of night. If the powers that be are serious about stemming the flow of drugs and guns into the country, ALL the holes must be plugged and this hole may be the biggest one out of them all. All it takes is a canine to do a walk thru and they can be on their way.
Bda will have to invest in a 24hr marines operation monitoring these things if that is the case.The same could be said for private jets is that plane being thoroughly searched? Are the people coming in being searched?
By any means necessary! GET HER DONE
Question for anyone that owns/works on or around a yacht. How long would it take for two customs officers to FULLY search a yacht for drugs or guns (which have no smell for the drug dog to pickup. If you include unscrewing/unbolting normally non accessible compartments, non accessible hatches, between the hulls/walls spaces etc.? Even if you include the engine compartment, including spare parts storage. You can hide things inside an oil filter and still connect it to the engine. Inside a radio/GPS etc.there is room for things (Hope I am not giving away ideas!)
Just wondering if it is time/manpower practical, not to mention the technical ability/skills of the custom officers to disassemble the items (they do not have to reassemble) to say that a yacht was/is FULLY searched when it arrives in Bermuda.
Triple that requirement when it comes to a corporate/private aircraft. “Sorry, but you are not taking apart anything” that I as a pilot have to fly in!
@ Sara its the other way around ,glad these drugs are not getting on our streets .OUR STREETS ARE SAFER WITHOUT DRUGS,NOT SAFER WHEN DRUGS ARE HERE THAT IS SICK THINKING THAT IF DRUGS ARE HERE IT WILL MAKE THINGS BETTER …
Sad that people keep trying to ship drugs in like this i guess some people will never learn
There is a large chance that if WEED were here and decriminalized/legal that things could get better. Get off the caps lock.
Actually Jay, if you read the article by THE POLICE COMMISSIONER himself the other day, he said that the recent increase in violence was due to more drugs being taken off streets. What you don’t understand is that when the supply decreases, dealers get more desperate. Please explain what you don’t understand about this.
Sara just for the sake of speaking facts. Whenever there is a shortgage of marijuana on the island, crime goes up. It’s fact!!
Um, if you re-read what I have said, I SAID EXACTLY what you are saying! Look at my posts above and you will see that.
Marijuana is the only drug that is more dangerous to sell and purchase than use!
duh I am agreeing with you
Sorry Grizz, when I read your post it seemed you were explaining it to me and you were just backing me up on the truth!! Thank you for being factual instead of lala land.
no prob..have a great xmas
I dont underestand why the notion that the actual use of marijuana causes crime is so engrained in people’s heads. Is it just what hte “war on drugs” tells us? i know when i’ve done it in the past, i just want to sit around and hang with friends.. not go out and fight the next person that looks at my girl..
Excellent Team Work. Should restore so many people’s faith in Law Enforcement.
Not Yet!……Gotta get them time wasting officers off the stop signs first…
Nuttin wrong with weed, only that it was made illegal by MEN in suits…
Just imagine if Michael Jackson smoked weed to relax, he’d be still moon walking.
Larry, this does nothing to restore our faith in local law enforcement…its the yanks that caught them. We just confirmed that they were ours and when they left.
Good point Scott.
When they touch her……get back too me.
eh? lol sry i think i dont understand
We never do Scott, we never do. He is the riddler. Terry, are you by chance rummy from the other forum?
@ Scott….You will if you meant what you wrote.
lol i meant exactly what i wrote… just dont know if you’re agreeing, or being sarcastic
in my opinion… the major problem that is overlooked by all of this is our education system. how many people that get busted for drugs have bachelor degrees?
mind you, at the moment even people with bachelor degrees have trouble getting work, but this is just another example of where the education system has failed the youth of my generation.
unfotunately this seems to be an irreversible cycle. no education. no money. no life in this island with inflated prices for rents so that people that had money can continue to have money living off of the money brought in exempt companies and expat workers.
You raise a good point but I took it differently than you intended I think.
Those who get CAUGHT do not have bachelors. If you graduate with just your 12x tables as a high school leaving certificate, you probably don’t have the brains to not get caught.
you’re right, because they aren’t the mules. they just front the bill.
I respect your opinion v!nce, however I do recall in quite a few cases in which students in school get busted for bringing in drugs. In some other cases some Bermudians in schools try to get people to bring drugs down.
I have always stated, our education system is not as bad as the media or others make it out to be, it easier to blame the system instead of a child’s first teacher… the Parents.
And besides.. University is not for everyone, you can be very sucessful mastering a trade or skill and have your own business. Alot of construction bosses never went to Uni or even finished high school at that and yet they are sucessful. What they did have was determiation and a good work ethic, something that is missing from some of our young people… they live in an era of instant gratification.
What the hell is so hard to understand about ‘looking’ and touching.
S&^T…..
Here is a clue. Sitting on the beach having a beer. I look at your girl friend. You give me bad look ( thats cool, yah smokin). I rub my hand on her thigh…………………………………………………….oUCH……………….
ahh.. i see now..
well firstly, a look and a touch are different.. one is nothing, the other is technically assault.. so yes there would be issues if that happened..so waht you are saying is a huge thing with or without any drugs.
..the point i was making wasnt about that though, my point was people that are “high on weed” do not normally become aggressive in nature.. whereas drunk people often become very aggressive very easily.
My point being that high people do not go out and commit crimes simply because they are high..they usually chill out and enjoy their company or movies. the crimes come from robbing for money (usually not just weed money), or guarding sales territory (because the sales are illegal, and run a huge profit).
on the other hand, drunk people can be violent, offensive, piss all over the place, steal things, etc just because they think its a good time or ok.
Well, as usual we can see that the comments have gone from the subject to who’s a member of what.
A Happy Christmas to all.
I’m gonna smoke some Cassava (legal, try it. Best pie in the sky high…shush…) and drink 2 40 oz bottles of Bleck Rum ann do a drive by at Miles.
Hope Santa is good to you all and remember….Only you can prevent fronting. Put your presents in the back of the tree, lite it and enjoy.
Brought to you by Forrest Gumpja….Support your local Spliff Department and never discard a spliff in an open area that may effect others.
VSB,ZBM, RG, BdaSun, Vurkurz Woice, Burndeenewz, and allCustoms Officers support this endevour to keep our streets clean and tanks full ( submitted by the Bda Watha Survise)…Speaking of which…a warm front will be comming soon. Rizzla will be on sail. See your local fish monger. The same wahoo caught last month is still being caught………………………………………………………
LOL LOL. Terry you are too funny!!
Ignore Terry,just another drunk and does not even live in Bermuda
lmao…. im like what is the guy talkiny about? I think he smokes too much weed.
Strong words there Call as it is says.
Back it up or shut up. Easy to find your ISP. Now go back too BIAW and blast someone else.
People know whom I am but you hide and make libelos accusations.
I’ll refrain from further comments as I do have respect for the host of this sight.
@ sarah
i am the first jay that you responded ,so you suggest we follow and do what the drug dealers say and let them have there drugs so the streets are safer>?this is why we are in this mess in the first place ,we have been to easy on these guys selling drugs for a long time ,no more it has to stop we owe them nothing and we give them nothing from now,to many deaths,so much violent crime and too many families being ruined by this madness for me to support an of this craziness.If the dealers dont get their drugs and they get upset ,then screw them. lets arrest them if they disagree with laws ,not the other way around were we say, hey lets give them drugs so they are not upset,lets make sure they are happy and comfortable and getting everything they need,this thinking is a part of the sickness thats been going on in Bda for too long and if police commisioner or police officer is saying the opposite it doesnt make it right.Comes a time in life when people have to use there own discretion because as u can see the police have not been doing a great job so far.
Look I never said “we follow and do what the drug dealers say and let them have there drugs so the streets are safer” You totally took out of context AND put words in my mouth. I simply stated a fact that you were incorrect about and you were. Crime goes up when drug supply decreases, that is all I said, the rest is all you putting words in people’s mouths.
this is bad news! now the economy will NEVER get back on track!
What do you mean by this? Not sure I follow?
Can you pick another name? I don’t want people thinking you’re me.
who said that is even true ,how do you really know ,(how do we really know)that crime goes up when drug supplies decreases ,who said that?
If anything the more drugs that come in the country thats when you will see crime rise.Because its something to fight for,if nothings here all the better.
And i am giving you the meaning of the underlining of your statement not putting words in your mouth.
that goes against supply/demand though. High supply, then there is no fighting over it because its easy to get. Low supply, and people will fight for it, as well as raise prices so they get their own..
it can never be (in our lifetime) “nothings here”. They will always find a way.
and its not about “giving them what they want”. the criminals (dealers at least) dont want the drugs themselves, they want the money/power from selling those drugs. You take away their selling power, and their money, then you make that “occupation” a bit less enticing.
Well, I read an article where the police commissioner said just that. And it is basic supply and demand of the illegal black market. Less drugs=more fighting over what is left, price increase when less available=more people committing crime to get the money they may not have to buy it.
@Sara
With all due respect to the police commisioner and the police there job has not been outstanding if anything they need to stop talking and start breaking down some doors i wouldnt take what the police commisioner is saying to heart.
If the police had been doing there jobs for the last 8 years we wouldnt be in this damn mess int he first place.
these guys should have been stopped a long time ago from becoming the people they are today.its not all there fault but they need to step it up cause some of these guys are just getting more and more ruthless.
People are calling for from people on drugs and nothing is being done,police are waiting for deaths before they react when people are calling in begging for help its pretty pathetic in some cases
in my last sentence i meant to say people are calling the police about people on drugs and a lot of the times nothing is being done about these guys.
DRUG is any substance that, when absorbed into the body of a living organism. whats everyones deal! marijuana is not a harmful drug. THC the active ingredient is good for you but smoking itself is not. Theres lots of worse stuff out there. what i love about bermuda is you never hear about a coke or a X bust. its always weed. why u might ask? because the harder drugs are politicain drugs!!!! its a tru fact that alot of people ignore. on the supply and demand tip. crime rises drasticly during what we call a drought (lack of weed). more drinking occurs, more bar fights more people doing harder drugs. harder drugs = more robberies and violence. people that get caught up in this put other people in danger because the money is short because of these busts and people will resort in other means 2 get what is owed. part of these murders is from mess ups with drug money. goverment needs to step in and legalize marijuana and focus on the harder drugs. legalization saves the taxpayer money as well as can generate money for the goverment. look at california the pull more money than all the other states combined on the taxation of marijuana.
Some good comments there Sara.Unforntunately reality has taken a back seat in these challenging times. The world is in turmoil, wars, genocide, greed, control. Yet here in Bermuda we all feel the effects becuase of influence, position in society, where we live, size of house, employment.
Been reading comments here and on other local forums/blogs and it is all the same. Frustration, insecurity, guilt, blame.
Sorta like “It’s all the UBP’s fault”. It’s all the “Police fault”. Actually, it’s all OUR fault because we have not held the Government/s past and present feet too the fire. Everything is cool. Got my check/que, few rums, groceries but…..where’s the structure. Hotels are empty, room availability is down, young men a being shot and killed.
Denial.
Well keep on denying and hidding it just because some bennefit from it.
Every blog/forum/group shows how people feel. They attack, their negative, frustrated and wondering what to do and thats another topic but related.
Ok..Um dunn…….time for another bottle and a sliff……………………..
We feel the effects here in Bermuda because we are not immune to what happens in the rest of the world. Believe me people in the rest of the world are feeling every bit as Bermuda, if not much worse in some places.
Terry, just so we are crystal clear, I am not saying we should give the drug dealers their drugs so they can make money, never said that. The unfortunate reality is reducing supply is only a samll slice in the pie, yet the only thing the law focuses on. Therefore, the unfortunate consequence of reduced supply will be an increase in crime rates. We need to look at the whole picture, not just the part we know what to do with.