UPDATED: 50 held in mass drugs raid

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

ARMED police officers in the sky and on the ground swooped in on neighbourhoods throughout Grand Bahama early yesterday morning in a huge operation that resulted in the arrest of 50 suspects.

The operation began around 1am on Tuesday, ending just before noon with the discovery and seizure of large quantities of drugs, cash, firearms and ammunition.

Forty-one men and nine women were arrested and taken into custody, and charges are expected to be brought against some people by tomorrow.

Residents asleep in their beds were awakened by the sounds of a helicopter overhead with a bright spotlight shining down on homes below, and camouflage-clad officers armed with high-powered weapons descending on targeted residences in Freeport, Eight Mile Rock, West Grand Bahama and in an area over the bridge.

Video footage of the scenes of the operation was captured by onlookers on their cellular phones and posted on social media, including the helicopter landing in “the Ghetto” area.

“It’s just like a scene you would see in the movie,” said a man watching the footage posted on Whatsapp.

The joint operation, dubbed Northern Strike, led by ACP Clayton Fernander consisted of teams from Grand Bahama, New Providence and international law enforcement partners.

During a press briefing, Mr Fernander revealed they were able to recover large quantities of drugs and money found hidden in homes in Grand Bahama.

“I am not able to give an exact count, but there were large quantities of drugs, and there was a large quantity of money that individuals could not account for that were found hidden in their homes – large amounts of US and Bahamian cash,” he said.

The senior police official also displayed the weapons that were recovered, including a .40 firearm; a .90 firearm, and an old western-style 45 handgun.

“This operation was an intelligence-led operation to targeted hot spots to disrupt criminal gangs involved in drugs and firearms trafficking,” he said.

“I am happy to be here in Grand Bahama to assist officers here.”

The operation took residents by surprise, and some watched as several people in one family in the Ghetto were arrested and led off to a police bus.

The Ghetto is a known hot spot for drugs and guns, and Mr Fernander stated that police recovered a quantity of marijuana in various pockets there with the help of the K-9 Unit.

“We were able to recover drugs in different pockets of that area, and I commend the K-9 Unit – they were stars this morning because they were able to sniff out drugs hidden in some areas the eyes would not see,” he said.

Mr Fernander stressed police would continue to conduct such operations to weed out the criminal element in communities in Grand Bahama.

“We will continue to ensure safe communities; we will continue to go after a handful of individuals that continue to wreak havoc in our communities. We will not stand by and allow them to disrupt the peace,” he said.

“You will not know the time we will strike – I must apologise to the residents in those areas, I know we woke them up this morning... and that the chopper was over some homes.”

Mr Fernander thanked the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, US Drug Enforcement Administration, US Homeland Security, US Coast Guards, and Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF). He also thanked the public for its support.

“We can’t do it alone. We ask you to continue to pray for us because it is not easy. We showed up to work and came here from New Providence - we left families. We are fighting one goal, and all law enforcement agencies have to continue to partner to win this fight, and we will,” he said.

ACP Samuel Butler said: “Today is a demonstration of our act of deliberate intention to weed out persons associated with criminal activities. It is a wonderful thing to be able to free communities like the Ghetto because even though it is depressed, persons want to have a safe community,” he said.

Comments

John says...

Same ole dirty tricks...plant seeds and bring da (black) birds 🦅 ta collect .

Posted 20 March 2018, 2:38 p.m. Suggest removal

joeblow says...

Is it logical to assume that in every instance entrapment or some other nefarious motive is at play? Should we really believe there is no criminal underclass, people who will break the law to exploit people and circumstances for personal benefit? Really??

Posted 21 March 2018, 10:17 a.m. Suggest removal

sheeprunner12 says...

Soooooo, while the Government is busy trying to find credible investors for the GB people .......... the criminal element there is making it very difficult to think positively about the island ........ drug, gun and human smuggling is beneficial for the GB underground economy.

Posted 20 March 2018, 3:32 p.m. Suggest removal

John says...

Sounds similar to the raid where they claim 30 persons were allegedly arrested for drugs, guns and a substantial amount of cashews also taken on one of the black birds. How many people have been charged yet more than a month later? Now go figure the reason why. Some would do anything to disrupt peace and ruin the reputation of this country.

Posted 20 March 2018, 5:42 p.m. Suggest removal

BMW says...

What a clown they are cleaning up the known criminals that ruin the reputation, peace and tranquility of G.B. and you making noise?

Posted 21 March 2018, 7:47 a.m. Suggest removal

John says...

You the clown because you are being manipulated. Who has trafficking more drugs than the DEA while locking up and killing young (Black) men?

Posted 21 March 2018, 7:57 a.m. Suggest removal

themessenger says...

So John, you sayin' ASP Fernander and his people in cahoots wid dem racist DEA people helpin' dem to frame alla we innocent drugs, guns and people smugglers in GB & Nassau? Now you know dees drug dealers don't cause no disruption in our communities or bring disrepute on our country by killin'up one anudder erry other day an night, so why Uncle Sam is be botherin wit dem, cause dey black, right? Oh, I forget, your theory is that the Americans tryin' to ruin our reputation because of their insatiable appetite for drugs and because we are a black nation, nobody don't sell or use drugs and guns in this country.
Man you is one mix up individual, you gat more conspiracy theories than Dan Brown and Glen Beck!

Posted 21 March 2018, 7:58 a.m. Suggest removal

John says...

Let’s bet the $1 million they ‘discovered ‘ will neither make it to court as evidence or be deposited to the ‘proceeds of drug trafficking account.’ Because It either never existed,?was counterfeit or will be returned to its ‘owners ‘ who planted it. Who’s policing the police?

Posted 21 March 2018, 8 a.m. Suggest removal

John says...

Messenger I am quite capable of expressing myself so your posts represents you and not me, as I don’t need you to relate for me. Even America has issues with some of its enforcement agencies and only a fool would deny a drug problem exists in the Bahamas. And as president Trump now realizes drug abuse has become deadly. Not that it has not always been. But putting locking up the young men on the streets while the chief drug trafficking or producing honchos go free is not solving the problem. America and The Bahamas must really invest more resources the prevention drug abuse and rehabilitation programs if their efforts to combat drugs are genuine. How much has the US ever donated to The Bahamas for drug abuse or drug prevention programs?

Posted 21 March 2018, 8:30 a.m. Suggest removal

John says...

The illegal drug market is larger than the GNP of the Bahamas and even larger than this country’s national debt. So the drugs currently passing through The Bahamas is an infantisimal amount compared to what is being trafficked, even to The United States . So why are there not more drugs busted? At current the busts are less than 10 percent of what is allegedly being trafficked. And since both doctors and pharmacist who prescribe opioids and both licensed and registered why aren’t more of them being arrested and charged when an unusual number of their patients die from prescribed drugs overdose?

Posted 21 March 2018, 8:43 a.m. Suggest removal

John says...

Drug overdose deaths in the US, mostly from opioids, climbed from 15,000 in 1999 to just under 80,000 in 2017 and is now the leading cause of death in some age categories. The US that has 7 percent of the worlds population consumes 80 percent of all opioids prescribed legally. So why is this level af abuse of legal drugs happening in the US while that country claims to be the worlds police on illegal drugs? One would think life preservation would be the DEA’d greatest priority and they would go after the drugs that are causing the greatest amounts of deaths with priority.

Posted 21 March 2018, 9:24 a.m. Suggest removal

John says...

The most abused drug in The Bahamas is marijuana. The danger is that persons start smoking at a very young age. There are many strains and varieties of marijuana on the streets and some is very addictive. Marijuana can be a gateway to more dangerous drugs and this country needs more interactive programs for its young people. Beyond posting billboards on intersections.

Posted 21 March 2018, 9:30 a.m. Suggest removal

newcitizen says...

What are you talking about? Honestly, where do you get your information?

Posted 21 March 2018, 4:24 p.m. Suggest removal

John says...

At the current level of abuse the US will lose a portion of its population equal to the entire population of The Bahamas to opioids overdose deaths in less than five years. And because the number of deaths has been increasing steadily since 1999 it can be as less as 4 years. There is tons and tons of information out there and. It is the prerogative of our law enforcement agencies to avail themselves to this information to better serve their country and to make informed decisions when patterning with agencies from other countries so as not to be hoodwinked or bambozzled. At this point the armed forces of this country should have their own intelligence gathering and verifying resources to ensure they do not act on false information.

Posted 21 March 2018, 9:50 a.m. Suggest removal

proudloudandfnm says...

Wow. John you're still clinging to all those "war on drugs" long debunked fallacies. Good for you..

Posted 21 March 2018, 10:35 a.m. Suggest removal

themessenger says...

John should maybe have a smoke, he might be a little more rational if he got high Lol.

Posted 21 March 2018, 11:50 a.m. Suggest removal

sheeprunner12 says...

John is hogging up the whole conversation on this matter ........ smh

Posted 21 March 2018, 12:03 p.m. Suggest removal

Sickened says...

I think John's opioid addicted housekeeper is using John's computer instead of cleaning the house.

Posted 21 March 2018, 1:31 p.m. Suggest removal

ohdrap4 says...

while inagaddadavida plays in the background!!!1

Posted 21 March 2018, 9:28 p.m. Suggest removal

John says...

Cleaning the house is correct. Clean yours before you try clean someone else’s. Now you see why the Bible says it is sinful to offer your neighbor strong drink /drugs. You get them addicted then take advantage of them or their weaknesses. The war on drugs/ the war on gangs/the war on opioids... are we there yet?

Posted 21 March 2018, 6:33 p.m. Suggest removal

proudloudandfnm says...

Best thing to do is legalise marijuana. Simple and easy. Stop crimjnalizing people for a benign substance. Legalize it and let us make millions off of it. I am ready to open my shop! Let's get it done!

Posted 22 March 2018, 1:23 p.m. Suggest removal

John says...

So how many of the insurgents have been charged? As yet? Was the large amounts of cash counted and secured? As well as the large amounts of drugs and the guns? Or was this just a hyped up restaging of what was done on New Providence? It’s the people’s time to police the police!

Posted 22 March 2018, 1:46 p.m. Suggest removal

Log in to comment