18-18 stalemate affected TT drug war

THE 18-18 stalemate arising out the 2001 general elections has been blamed for the reduction in drug seizures in Trinidad and Tobago for 2002.

While the TT Government continues to co-operate with the United States in the fight against the drug trade and money laundering, the inability of the PNM Government to convene Parliament in 2002 limited further progress in strengthening counter-narcotics capabilities. This is contained in the 2002 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR) which was released in the United States earlier this week. The document contains a status report on 140 countries. According to the report, the TT Defence Force and the Police Organised Crime and Narcotics Unit (OCNU) carried out monthly counter-narcotics operations co-ordinated through the Joint Operations Command Centre (JOCC). For the first nine months of 2002, the various agencies seized 227 kilos of cocaine and 175 kilos of marijuana. According to the 2001 figures, the Police/Defence Force seized 772 kilos of cocaine and 634 kilos of marijuana.

Despite the political stalemate in 2002, the report stated that the TT Government continued to participate actively in regional counter-narcotics initiatives. The Government, according to the report, continues to fund a three-member US Customs advisory team which has been working closely with the local Customs and Excise Division. The Government also continues to fund an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) team which is working with the Board of Inland Revenue to strengthen penalties for financial crimes and to establish a criminal investigation division. The international report revealed that the TT Government took steps in 2002 to upgrade the facilities of the law enforcement agencies - acquiring two additional aircraft for the air wing of the Defence Force and upgrading the radar capability. Although the JOCC does not have a permanent commander, the report says that the unit remains a model for inter-ministerial co-ordination in the area of drug interdiction operations. The last commander, Rear Admiral Richard Kelshall, resigned his post after the UNC lost power following the 18-18 tie.

The INCSR points out that cocaine had been found at both Piarco and Crown Point International Airports in 2002. “Intelligence and actual seizures reveal that most of the narcotics smuggling is done by couriers and in air cargo. Increasingly, human couriers are being used to smuggle cocaine into the US.” The report states that young American couriers have been detained with newly obtained passports. For 2002, 15 Americans were detained in TT prisons, while the DEA reported an increase in drug swallowers transitting Crown Point Airport to Europe. The INCSR reports that in 2002, no charges of drug-related corruption were filed against any senior official. The report points out that the Government increased the staff of the Police Special Investigations Unit, renaming it the Anti-Corruption Squad.