By SANCHESKA BROWN

Tribune Staff Reporter

sbrown@tribunemedia.net 

POLICE seized nearly $2m worth of cocaine from a boat in Inagua Sunday afternoon two weeks after they first discovered $20,000 worth of cocaine in the same vessel.

Officer-in-charge of the Drug Enforcement Unit (DEU), Superintendent Samuel Butler said after arresting five men during the first drug bust, police received additional information that more cocaine was allegedly hidden on the boat.

According to reports, around 2pm on Sunday DEU officers, along with Operation Bahamas Turks and Caicos, and Inagua police, acting on intelligence conducted a search of a vessel that came from Haiti.

During Sunday’s search, officers allegedly discovered 105 kilos of suspected cocaine. During the original search on January 26, officers allegedly discovered 21 kilos of cocaine and an assault rifle in hidden compartments.

Four Haitian men and one Bahamian man were arrested in connection with the find. The men have already been charged in court regarding the initial discovery.

“We got additional intelligence that there were more hidden compartments on the boat so we continued our search on Sunday. During that search officers discovered a second hidden department where we found 105 kilos. Our investigations continue,” Supt Butler said.

Police also discovered $4.5m worth of cocaine on Sunday in Grand Bahama. Supt Butler said the drug finds were unrelated.

During a press conference in Grand Bahama, Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police Emrick Seymour said Bahamian and US authorities made the discovery after searching a 20-ft container that arrived from South America at the Freeport Container Port.

He said that police, the Department of Customs and US Drug Enforcement Agency officials conducted a search around noon Sunday and found five duffel bags containing 161 kilos of cocaine.

The container was bound for Canada, police said. No arrest was made.