A cargo vessel that originated in Guyana and was headed to French/Dutch island of St Martin, was searched in the waters off Trinidad on Wednesday.
In what police described as a sealed compartment, they discovered 157 packets of cocaine, weighing more than 182 kilogrammes, with a local street value of more than a quarter billion dollars.
Some of the packets carried the ‘Toyota’ logo, similar to packages on some of the cocaine found when they searched a Sports Utility vehicle in a hotel car park in Chaguaramas in May 2023, -168 packets worth more than $234 million.
In that case, three people were arrested for the drug which police say was headed to North America.
The branding of cocaine packets with the logos of car makers is known to be done by the Sinaloa Cartel, which is considered the largest and most powerful drug trafficking organisation in the Western Hemisphere, and is a network of Mexico’s most important drug lords.
The Sinaloa Cartel has been operating in the Caribbean for decades.
It is involved in the trafficking of fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine, marijuana, and heroin, primarily to the United States, and in human trafficking and extortion.
In Wednesday’s case, police were told that a shipping vessel originating in Guyana, was carrying narcotics under the guise of legitimate cargo destined for St. Martin.
The ship arrived off Trinidad on February 25, and was kept under surveillance.
On Tuesday, the vessel was observed receiving shipments of various goods, and clearance was granted for the vessel's departure to St. Martin that afternoon.
However, the crew altered their departure schedule, setting sail during the early hours of Wednesday.
The vessel was eventually intercepted by the Coast Guard and escorted to Staubles Bay.
Over a two-day inspection, a concealed, sealed compartment was discovered within the vessel. This led to the seizure of 157 packets of cocaine.
On February 20 this year, the T&T Coast Guard boarded a narco-cub carrying a shipment of cocaine in waters between Trinidad and Grenada.
Three Colombian nationals who were in the semi-submersible were pulled out of the vessel, which was boarded by Able Seaman Keiron Simon who went into the hatch the secure the drugs.
The vessel went down with Simon in it. He has not been recovered. The narco-sub has been located, and efforts are underway to get specialised vessels with remotely operated submersibles to go down to the sea floor to recover evidence.
Commendation from Ag CoP
“I extend my heartfelt commendation to all officers and agencies involved in this exemplary operation, which underscores the power of real-time intelligence sharing and inter-agency collaboration. This seizure not only disrupts the illicit operations of organised crime but also sends a strong message of our unwavering commitment to national security and combatting trans-national organized crime. Our law enforcement teams remain resolute in their efforts to safeguard our nation and dismantle criminal networks that threaten our communities.”
This, from Commissioner of Police Ag Junior Benjamin following an intelligence-driven operation, executed in strategic collaboration with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Port of Spain Office, US JIATF South, the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard (TTCG), and the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service.
