The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

NATIONAL Security Minister Wayne Munroe says officials have noticed new drug trafficking trends with smugglers using different routes than seen in past.

“Drug trafficking has taken a change,” he told reporters before going to Cabinet yesterday.

“We now have, for instance, marijuana smuggled from Canada and the US into The Bahamas whereas the flows used to be different. The ships that come up from South America and Central America on their way here, vehicles for drug trafficking, the recent interdiction would show the success of the co-operation between Bahamian officials and their counterparts.”

This comes as the Davis administration also seeks to crack down on gun trafficking in the country.

On Monday, Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis said his administration is working with The United States on tracking firearms that enter into the country illegally, adding that discussions have even gone as high as the White House.

He said more than 90 percent of guns confiscated and used as murder weapons in The Bahamas can be traced back to American manufacturers and gun shops and noted that more needed to be done to crack down on the issue.

“The agency that interfaces with the Bureau of Alcohol,Tobacco and Firearms and Homelands Security on the drug issue is the Royal Bahamas police force,” Mr Munroe said yesterday. “About two weeks ago, Deputy Commissioner Fernander and other officers travelled to the US for meetings with our partners.”

“In the same way that we co-operate very wholesomely with the US in preventing drug trafficking through our country to there, the position the prime minister takes simply is there should be reciprocity on the issue of gun trafficking that comes from them to us and so we have a long history of co-operation between the drug enforcement unit of the Royal Bahamas police force and the drug enforcement agency and OBPAT and number of other agencies to stem the flow.”

“We will be looking for co-operation so for instance, the prime minister mentioned – are they able to alert us if they see multiple purchases by someone with Bahamian connections. Those are things that Deputy Commissioner Fernander and the persons from the criminal intelligence bureau and other agencies of the RBPF will explore with their counterparts in the US.”