Pubdate: Mon, 03 Mar 2003
Source: Jamaica Gleaner, The (Jamaica)
Copyright: 2003 The Gleaner Company Limited
Contact:  http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/493
Author: Lloyd Williams, Senior Associate Editor

'Lock Up Big Coke Dealers'

US URGES JAMAICA TO DISMANTLE DRUG GANGS, INCREASE SEIZURES

THE UNITED States Government is urging the Jamaican authorities to get
tougher with cocaine traffickers.

The recommendation is made in the International Narcotics Strategy
Report 2003, which was published on Saturday by the U.S. State
Department's Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement
Affairs.

In its summary on Jamaica, INCSR March 2003 states that the island, a
major transit point for South American cocaine en route to the United
States, and the largest Caribbean producer and exporter of cannabis
(ganja) has in place a National Drug Control Strategy which covers
both the reduction of supply and demand.

However, it states that the Government of Jamaica (GoJ) has taken
steps "to protect itself against drug trafficking and other organised
crime, but needs to intensify and focus its law enforcement efforts
and enhance international co-operation in order to disrupt the
trafficking of large amounts of cocaine in Jamaica and its territorial
waters."

According to INCSR, "Needed actions include arresting and prosecuting
significant drug traffickers operating in Jamaica, dismantling
drug-trafficking organisations, and increasing drug seizures and
eradication."

The report stated that cocaine smugglers were increasingly using "the
area around the Pedro Cays as a staging/re-supply point for go-fast
vessels travelling from Colombia to Mexico". Stating that Colombian
drug cartels were believed to have established command and control
centres in Jamaica over the last several years to direct their
operations, the report charged: "The 'Colombianisation' of the
Jamaican drug trade is of great concern to the GoJ."

INCSR states: "Corruption continues to undermine law enforcement and
judicial efforts against drug-related crime in Jamaica, and is a major
barrier to more effective counter-narcotics actions." It said there
were several on-going investigations into alleged drug-related
corruption involving police personnel.

It suggested that the passage of a civil assets-forfeiture law would
materially assist the GoJ's counter-narcotics operations as it would
provide a source of vehicles, small boats and aircraft for Jamaican
law enforcement agencies and the military.

INCSR stated that while the Jamaican authorities did not arrest any
significant drug trafficker in 2002, it took steps to strengthen its
capability to identify, apprehend and prosecute drug traffickers and
dismantle drug-trafficking organisations.

It pointed out to that "severe resource constraints hamper the GoJ's
ability to take more aggressive actions against narcotics trafficking
networks as Jamaica's economy showed only limited signs of recovering
from the 1996 banking/financial crisis followed by several years of
negative economic growth. "Without international financial
assistance," INCSR states, "the GoJ is unlikely to be able to disrupt
and dismantle major cocaine trafficking organisations operating in
Jamaica."

But it said the United States would continue to provide equipment,
technical assistance, and training to assist the GoJ to strengthen its
counter-narcotics capabilities.

The report pointed out that Jamaica was not a significant regional
centre, tax haven or offshore banking centre, "but some money
laundering does occur most likely through the purchase of assets such
as houses or cars, rather than financial instruments."

It states that the 79.28 hectares of ganja the Jamaican authorities
eradicated in 2002 was "far short of eradication goal of 1,200
hectares agreed to in the Letter of Agreement between Jamaica and the
United States, under which the US is providing counter-narcotics
assistance to Jamaica. But it explained that eradication efforts were
hampered by bad weather and lack of manpower and equipment.

It said, however, that the Jamaican Government had requested US
support for a major cannabis eradication operation that is scheduled
for this year. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake