Approximately TT$1.68 billion worth of cocaine, marijuana, heroin and ecstasy was destroyed by the T&T Police Service at the Caroni Cremation Site on Wednesday.
Police Commissioner Allister Guevarro described it as a landmark day for law-abiding citizens, saying the massive destruction sends a clear message to drug traffickers while reinforcing ongoing efforts to protect young people from the dangers of narcotics.
“In total, it’s about $1.68 billion worth of narcotics. Cocaine, marijuana, heroin, and some of the more recent ecstasy pills. It is significant at this point in time because, as the TTPS, we want to show accountability and transparency to the public. So you know the old narrative, ‘Oh, they’re regurgitating it.’ Well, it can’t regurgitate it. It has been set on fire, and we are destroying it for the entire world to see.”
The drugs destroyed included several major seizures spanning nearly two decades, among them TT$700 million worth of cocaine seized off Monos Island in 2005; two tonnes of marijuana discovered in the Caroni Swamp last year; and narcotics confiscated at airports and during anti-crime operations.
Minister of Homeland Security Roger Alexander said the destruction represents the Government’s commitment to combating the illegal drug trade and protecting vulnerable citizens.
“Narcotics will always be a problem to any father, mother, brother, sister, aunt, cousin, teacher. So when you see this happening here, they would have saved how much millions of lives of young people.”
Assistant Commissioner of Police, Kerwin Francis, warned criminals that drug trafficking could cost them not only their freedom but also their assets.
“So once there’s a detection of dangerous drugs and persons have been arrested, we engage our Financial Investigations branch. They are charged with the responsibility of investigating the benefit from the drug trafficking or any serious crime, and once there’s a benefit, those matters are taken before the court so that we can have confiscation orders made, and in the interim, whilst the financial investigation is going on, we have the opportunity to restrain property that can also be forfeited to the State, sold and the funds deposited into the Seized Assets Fund.”
The Police Commissioner said the destruction exercise also marked the launch of a 12-week TTPS initiative focused on addressing marijuana use among young people and raising awareness about the dangers of drug abuse.