Cocaine in the pouch

THE DIPLOMATIC pouch is a special means of communication between a government and its embassies and consulates abroad, conveying mail, confidential information including sensitive documents, packages and other highly private material. Because of the vital purpose it serves, the pouch enjoys a unique status; it travels under particular supervision and is not subject to the scrutiny of Customs and other authorities at exit and entry points. Over the years, the privacy of the pouches and their contents have come to be regarded as almost sacrosanct since only vetted personnel in the Foreign Affairs Ministry are permitted to send and open these diplomatic bags.

It comes as quite a shock then to learn that the integrity of the TT pouch has been breached and that some persons have actually been using the bags to smuggle quantities of cocaine from our country into New York, Toronto and London. How long this nefarious practice has been going on we do not know, but in exposing it the Police believe they have busted an international drug-smuggling ring operating out of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The work of officers of the Organised Crime and Narcotics Unit in cracking this clandestine operation must be commended. Acting on intelligence received, the OCNU officers were able to organise an apparently successful sting operation within the Ministry itself.

We expect, however, that the Police are following up this effort with as thorough an investigation as possible and that all the culprits operating this cocaine-smuggling ring involving New York, Toronto and London, will eventually be brought to justice. We have always taken the integrity of the diplomatic pouch for granted, having regard to the official level of its operations, but the OCNU bust demonstrates both the cunning of drug traffickers and the lengths to which they would go to ply their illegal international trade. This “breakthrough” then may offer the opportunity for a much wider dragnet. Where did the cocaine come from? Who supplied it? The minions must be made to talk.

To deal with this pernicious business and to guard against perceived “terrorist threats,” several countries, particularly the United States, have instituted strict security measures at entry ports which make the lives of travellers much more bothersome. They are measures many will have to live with, including our airline personnel whose personal luggage is now being throughly searched on arrival at US airports. A major onus, of course, is also on the Foreign Affairs Ministry to restore the absolute integrity of its diplomatic pouch and to install fail-safe measures to maintain it. In this regard, acting Minister Eric Williams in a statement to the Senate on Tuesday, announced that “more stringent procedures” have been imposed which include supervision “not only of the dispatch of the bags, but also the preparation and documentation thereof.” The appropriate authorities, he added, are in the process of revetting all personnel connected with the service.

According to Mr Williams, the Government “views this incident as an extremely serious matter striking at the very heart of our national security and with the potential, if undetected, to do grave injury to the country’s reputation at a time when we are poised for significant economic strides.” The country will be pleased to hear these earnest-sounding sentiments, but at the same time it must be realised that cocaine in the TT diplomatic pouch is just another horrible manifestation of the corrupting power of  drug traffickers who still appear to be thriving in our country.