Smuggling illegal drugs is ILLEGAL. Got that? I L L E G A L. When someone at Boston’s Logan International Airport is traveling to Bermuda and gets caught by the Boston Police with illegal drugs found by drug-sniffing dogs, the person is arrested by the Boston Police and prosecuted in the US. End of story.

When someone at the Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport is traveling to Bermuda and gets caught by the Atlanta Police with illegal drugs found by drug-sniffing dogs, the person is arrested by the Atlanta Police and prosecuted in the US. End of story.

Repeat with every airport with direct flights to Bermuda.

Is this too complex a concept to grasp? Ask an adult to explain what I wrote.

Second, as I stated, the airports were from the Skyport—Flights From webpage (arrivals) on that day. The schedule changes. For example, Ponta Delgada (PDL) is not on the list. So what? Even 15 is still manageable. You concentrate on the airports with the most traffic first and then the secondary airports. Common sense.

Third, why are you being so obtuse about common sense? Seriously, what is your solution? Let the criminals and drugs into Bermuda first; maybe catch them. Why would any sane person want that? Stop being a critic and step up or step out of the way.

Yeah, I thought so…

Second, what about:

10 Baltimore (BWI)
11 Charleston (CHS)
12 Halifax (YHZ)
13 Hartford Bradley (BDL)
14 Orlando (MCO)
15 Raleigh-Durham (RDU)?

How many flights come to Bermuda a day, and from which airports?
Skyport – Flights From
1. Atlanta (ATL)
2. Boston (BOS)
3. Charlotte (CLT)
4. Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL)
5. London Heathrow (LHR)
6. New York JFK (JFK)
7. Newark (EWR)
8. Toronto (YYZ)
9. Westchester County Airport (HPN)

Not even 10 airports! And not every day.
My proposal is very durable and completely cost-effective. I will also add that I called a few airports for my research. The local police are always ready to help catch drug smugglers.

Skyport – Flights From
1. Atlanta (ATL)
2. Boston (BOS)
3. Charlotte (CLT)
4. Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL)
5. London Heathrow (LHR)
6. New York JFK (JFK)
7. Newark (EWR)
8. Toronto (YYZ)
9. Westchester County Airport (HPN)

WOW! Not even 10 airports! And not every day.
If you have a job, take a 25% pay cut and send the difference to a charity.

About 10% of all international airports in the world (about 240) are located in the U.S. No where near 40,000 airports, but still not insignificant.

Now taxpayers have to foot the bill for a trial and years of imprisonment – likely well over $1 million!

As I proposed to the Government, pay the police at the departure airports to have their drug-sniffing dogs do a walk-through at the boarding gate and sniff through the luggage BEFORE the bags are put in the cargo hold.

It is much cheaper to stop the importation at the airports than a trial and time at Westgate.

Several years ago, I did a quick cost analysis for the detection, arrest, trial, and housing for years at Westgate, and I suggested the following to the Government:

Pay the local police at airports in the US, Canada, and the UK to bring in drug-sniffing dogs to inspect the checked bags and do a walkthrough of the boarding area at the departure airport. Catch people BEFORE they come to Bermuda. Let arrests occur in those countries and avoid expending costs and resources in Bermuda. The cost savings were HUGE! (Westgate alone in 2020/2021 cost $152,620 per inmate. (See below) Add in the cost per case associated with BPS, Customs, lawyers, and the cost of the trail, etc. $300,000 minimum overhead expense per case). Pick a number for the social cost and damages of illegal drugs to Bermuda – priceless.

One person sentenced to 2 to 5 years on drug charges estimated cost to taxpayers:

$305,240 to $763,100 Westgate prison cost
$605,240 to $1,063,100 including $300k for pre-Westgate cost overhead

Contracting drug-sniffing dog sweeps annually should not cost anywhere near that expense, frees up Bermuda resources to focus on other things, and saves taxpayers money.

Let the other countries deal with drug smugglers at their airports since they have been letting the drugs come through in the first place. The Government can also do it with the cruise lines at the ports of departure. I would go with the airports first, as local police are already there every day with dogs.

APPROVED ESTIMATES OF REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE FOR THE YEAR 2022/23 P B-280 2022/23 Estimate Department of Corrections $22,893,000.

P B-282 The capacity of Westgate is 372 inmates.
The average daily number of inmates forecast:

2020/2021 average daily number actual – 150 or 40.32% of capacity
$22,893,000 / 150 = $152,620 (not using the Average total cost of incarceration per inmate per annum based on a maximum capacity of $74,004)

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