Police make $5m marijuana bust in St James

POLICE on February 29 seized more than $5 million worth of marijuana in St James.

Western Division officers made the seizure during an early morning anti-crime exercise.

Police reports said around 3.45 am, members of the St James CID went to Western Main Road, St James, near Clarence Street.

They intercepted a blue Hyundai Tucson SUV driven by a 38-year-old Diego Martin resident. They searched it and found 13 bales of compressed marijuana weighing 334 kilogrammes with a street value of $5.5 million.

The man was arrested and taken to the St James Police Station.

The police described the seizure as a “serious dent in the operations of drug-trafficking networks,” adding it was part of the overall strategy to increase the attack on all forms of criminal activity in the wake of February 26’s triple murder in Maraval.

Snr Supt Sean Henry said, “This exercise is part of ongoing and aggressive anti-crime initiatives in the Western Division. We will continue our aggressive and relentless attack on the criminals and criminality, with a view to delivering on our mandate to ensure that the Western Division remains a safe place. I will also continue to encourage and employ persons to co-operate and collaborate with us in our efforts to ensure our communities are safe.”

The exercise was co-ordinated by ASP Russell, supervised by Sgt Linton, and included PCs David and Charles as well as PC Ali and PC Joseph from the Charge Room.