Half a Million in Marijuana Found on Haitian Sloops says TCI Police

Dana Malcolm 

Staff Writer 

#TurksandCaicos, September 11, 2023 – It’s not just people that are coming in on the tiny fast boats that attempt to breach the Turks and Caicos, it’s drugs too, according to the Police who nabbed marijuana worth half a million dollars ($500 000) on a sloop last week.

The revelation was made in a press release shared on September 5th, days after the two-day find on August 29th and 30th.

The Police had intercepted the vessel at sea but the occupants managed to escape, grounding the boat and fleeing into the bushes while officers watched.

What they left behind, some bobbing in the water near the vessel, were dozens of packages of varying sizes, boxes, and bags, all tightly wrapped in what appeared to be cellophane and then double and triple-sealed with tape.

After two days of searching, the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force Marine Unit and the Customs Department turned up 113 packages.

Fifty two packages on the first day floating around the vessel and 61 more on the second directly from the boat.

Inside those packages, of which police shared photos, was the massive quantity of marijuana.

“On Wednesday, August 30th, the Marine Branch escorted a wooden vessel from an area known as Northwest Point to the commercial dock Providenciales.  As customary, the vessel was subsequently searched by the Customs Enforcement Unit. During the search, twenty-seven (27) kilograms of Cannabis was discovered hidden on board the vessel. No arrest has been made thus far, as there were no occupants on board when the abandoned vessel was discovered. The drugs were secured and handed over to the police. Investigations are continuing,” said Linda Malcolm, Collector of Customs.

The find confirms long held concerns that Haitian smuggling operations were also a way to funnel in illicit drugs and other contraband to the British overseas territory, which is overwhelmed by the country’s highest levels of gun crime.