2011: $52 Million Of Drugs Seized
An estimated total of 351 Kg [771lbs] of controlled drugs with an estimated street value of $52 million was seized in 2011, according to the crime statistics released yesterday [Feb.21].
Cocaine was the most common drug with 167.3 Kg [368lbs] seized with a value of $39.3 million. “The level of cocaine is unusual and is related to the seizure of a vessel in August 2011,” the report said.
Cannabis was the next most common drug seized in 2011 with 108.6 Kg [239lbs] seized at a value of $5.4 million.
The majority of drugs seized in 2011 were at street level [681] while there were 177 seizures at ports — including LF Wade Airport — and 21 overseas seizures which involved overseas law enforcement agencies.
I’ll bet we would be horrified if the truth could be known about the level of drug (and alcohol) use in Bermuda. I know I would be!
I think we all know about the high level of alcohol use in Bermuda its probably the nations most popular pastime. This is why business owners love their liquor license & are vexed if they can’t get one. We even have alcohol sold in the… PHARMACY?!?!?!?
Though I do agree that it would be shocking to know the amount of other drugs consumed in Bermuda. Especially if people here learned about how many upstanding & employed white collar citizens do illegal drugs also. The sad thing is someone making loads of money can supply there habit more regularly & fly underneath the radar compared to someone who cant afford & will start showing the signs of withdrawal & gain a worse reputation.
Either way it just goes to show the criminalization of ANY substance does not work to control that substance. This is really ironic when illegal drugs are termed by authorities as a CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE & even more ironic is BPS stats that show the least damaging substance of all CANNABIS has a massively higher BPS seizure rate than the other socially & physically damaging substances. I think BPS should be termed BS from now on & I don’t mean an acronym for Bermuda Service. Cannabis is a 5 hour high & is only habitual forming where as heroin & cocaine are 10 minute highs & highly addictive which means their has to be just as much or more of these substances as cannabis on island. So where are all the hard drug seizures BPS? This is they major income of gangs not cannabis. Also where’s all the ecstasy? I’ve been to raves abroad & I’ve seen the party people’s pupils there & also here at the clubs & they’re looking just as dilated. Just decriminalize & save us the BS BPS.
The money value ( inaccurate as it is) means nothing. It is the amounts which we should be looking at.
lol they confiscated like 5 pills of extacy in one year.
BPS probably thought all the other pills they found were flintstone vitamins. (que the music) We are flintstone kids hundreds strooong & groooowiiing.
Legalize it, and tax it all!
Big boom for tourism, not to mention the budget!
And have all those higher ups give up all of their drug money? I think not! The black market drug industry in Bermuda is too big and too successful to give up.
SHHHHH! Thats supposed to be a secret.
It’s only a secret to those with blinders on.
We can’t legalize it because the united states would embargo us. That said we can do it the smart way the Holland, Portugal, Spain & Canada have & keep them illegal but decriminalize it & then make use tolerated in certain areas in certain amounts under certain conditions then we’ll have less drug crimes, less gang activity & less addiction like these nations do.
“Prohibition will work great injury to the cause of temperance. It is a species of intemperance within itself, for it goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man’s appetite by legislation, and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes. A Prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded.” Abraham Lincoln
Anyone who does drugs in Bermuda (black or white / poor or wealthy) should know they have contributed to the downgrade of our society. They should have a guilt that extends to their children and grandchildren. There wouldn’t be this much supply if there was no demand!!!!! Just think of how many lives have been lost this past year due to the drugs in our society. Just think of the prostitution and the break-ins. One day, we will have a bad habit and no money to serve that habit!!! If you have an addiction, think about that – and get help!
@ Kathy. I hear what you’re saying, but the fact of the matter is, the demand will ALWAYS be there (regardless of time or place).
The policy of prohibition has to accept its part of the blame as well.
Just because something is illegal, does not mean that it instantly disappears. Instaed, these prohibited and unregulated activities simply go “underground”.
As such, when “business disputes” arise, they usually result in force or voilence since there is no proper (legal) course of action to take.
Kathy, unfortunately this is not a perfect world and man will always be flawed. We need to take the rose colored glasses off and accept reality. There has always been a demand for drugs and there always will be. If this reality is not accepted, all measures to “win the war on drugs” will fail. When we have flawed logic we can’t do anything significant to help.
The war on drugs was lost long ago. In actual fact the war on drugs founder Harry J. Anslinger really meant for it to be the secret war on minorities which has been very successful.
What David Henry typed was very well put but I’d like to spell it out in a different way.
Kathy your statement is like someone who would blame a diabetic for the sale of junk food or a alcoholic for the sale of alcohol. Downgrade of our society is not because of addiction its because of the poorly chosen laws supported by our justice system. Just as a drug dealer profits over these poorly chosen laws so does the whole of our justice system.
Think about how much police, judges, lawyers, & prison officers profit off of the arrest, prosecution & imprisonment of an addict. While we pay thousands in taxes for the imprisonment of addicts into a drug dealer environment. This is like locking a diabetic in a self service fast food place. Drugs & drug use have been on earth since the dawn of man but drug dealing gangs & drug crime has only come about since the 1930′s with the introduction of the criminalization of drugs.
If you take a closer look at the history in Bermuda’s rise in gang violence you’ll see that as the justice system pushed more in seizures case & point (BPS/DEA operation clean sweep) the profiting of drugs became more so & if you ask an addict they’ll tell you how each time this happened the dealers pushed their prices up. This is why America has the biggest gang culture of anywhere in the world. Other places in the world with more lenient drug laws hardly have any violence or addiction. Ask a dutch person why Holland became so liberal with their drug laws so early on they will tell you it was because the harsh laws were doing more harm than good.
Well done Customs!
For what? Crack dealers still buy plane tickets & crack addicts still buy crack & when that crack dealer arrives back in Bermuda customs still profits from it all with the dealers paid duty.
#REALTALK
Its a shame that more weed was found on the streets than cocaine. Than again the BPS are always racial profiling so that goes hand in hand as far as blacks being the majority in prison. I don’t agree with smoking marijuana but we all know that cocaine is one hell of a drug and the BPS can do a better job with getting more of it off the streets.
Drugs are the scourge of the earth , and Bermuda’s Hiroshima .
No prohibition is the scourge of the earth & Bermuda’s genocide.
Tommy Chong is the realest on Bernews lol the rest just say anything
Tommy Chong is a Rizla Rolling Retard .
Who are you calling a Rizla Rolling Retard? Your the one who stated, “Drugs are the scourge of the earth” you tell that to you’re dentist next time their about to fix a cavity or to the pharmacist next time you have an ailment. Even my children have learned when they were in primary school that ALL drugs can harm or heal you so who’s the retard.
The drug laws harm people more than the drugs do thats why I don’t partake in the use of cannabis in Bermuda but I’ll definitely partake in a country like Netherlands or Canada where I won’t be discriminated against. Yes discriminated! Its the norm here to go out get drunk & act like a total fool but smoke some weed & relax in your home with some munchies & a good film & the police come & break down your door & put you in cuffs. In Canada I’ve asked an officer where the nearest cannabis culture shop is & he kindly pointed it out & told me there was a smoker friendly lounge upstairs of it that I could relax & smoke my weed in. At least I can chose to not partake in cannabis & be alright because its not addictive but tell a alcoholic he can’t have another drink & watch him flip out.
Besides your reference to me using rizla is quite prejudice since I don’t use rizla or any other paper. I don’t use rizla because all smoker friendly places have vaporizers that are better to use to block carcinogens & have been proven effective by DOCTORS who PRESCRIBE cannabis to their cancer & hiv patients. So put that one in your pipe & smoke it you proctologist dream.
Let the drugs through and the killing will stop
You can’t just do that JusSayin. Even I support decriminalization I believe certain drugs need to be controlled a certain way by law just like alcohol & medications are.
The drugs that are presently abused & highly addictive like cocaine & heroin should only be administered in a clinical setting by a doctor or nurse. I’m sure a addict would rather get their fix from someone qualified than a thug dealer. At the moment our government expects all addicts to quit cold turkey but that hardly ever works even with counseling.
The other drugs like tobacco, alcohol & cannabis should be allowed the use of only in certain limited quantities & only in certain places like home or government licensed establishments. Yes certain limited quantities wasn’t a typo if any are wondering. Tobacco, alcohol & cannabis should not be sold to someone to the point where their buying a pack a week, falling down drunk or pulling a whitey.