More marijuana and cocaine but fewer party drugs

cbc.bb

Barbados - Marijuana and cocaine seizures have increased, but law enforcement officials have not seen any signs of party drugs like ecstasy recently.

That's according to Inspector Elliott Bovell of the southern division.

He made the disclosure at the Grantley Adams Airport during an operation to destroy a large quantity of marijuana and other contraband by incineration.

Drug enforcement officials in Barbados say they have not had any recent discoveries of party drugs like ecstasy.

However, they say they know it exists and are still keeping their eyes open for it in the same way they maintain their vigilance for marijuana and cocaine

Inspector Bovell admits though that ecstasy is a difficult product to spot.

Just over 26 hundred cannabis plants, about 16 hundred kilos of marijuana and nearly 20 kilos of cocaine were destroyed in the operation along with camouflage clothing.

The drugs were intercepted between October last year and 2006 at the island's beaches and airports.

Inspector Bovell says in the last five years there has been a major increase in the flow of drugs to Barbados from St. Vincent, St. Lucia and Jamaica.

He reveals that Barbados is also used as a transshipment point for drugs from Guyana and Suriname enroute to the United States and the United Kingdom.

Acting Police Public relations Officer David Welch says lawmen remain concerned about the incidence of people cultivating cannabis as well as the novel methods being used to import drugs to the island.

It is known that drugs and firearm use seem to go hand in hand nowadays.

Inspector Bovell says while lawmen have not encountered many gun battles in their drug operations they are always adequately prepared for any situation.