Cops haul $.5 million marijuana

Police said the marijuana which weighed 42.52 kilograms was found in a metal box attached to the exterior of the vessel named “Paula Pearl”.

Sunday Newsday was told that the vessel, which had a Polish crew, had sailed from Jamaica to off-load 20 tonnes of gypsum material at the local port.

The discovery was made around 2.40 pm on Thursday while crew members were off-loading the construction material.

According to a report, one of the crew members was making a routine check of the vessel when he noticed the metal container welded onto the ship, near its propeller.

Visiting the scene were St Margaret’s police, OCNU, CSU, the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard and Fire Services.

The area was secured while bomb technicians detached the metal box which they eventually opened and found the large quantity of marijuana. The illegal herb was seized by OCNU officers who lodged it at the San Fernando Police Station pending further investigations.

Police conducted a thorough search of the vessel on Thursday and again on Friday but nothing further was found. As a result, police said, the vessel was allowed to depart on Friday evening.