By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

LAW enforcement officers arrested 22 people during a massive operation in Bimini on Saturday.

The operation, headed by Assistant Commissioner of Police Samuel Butler, was a collaboration between the police and defence force and comes after two people were murdered on the island in separate incidents in April and May.

“The purpose of the operation was to follow up intelligence that was gathered from Bimini,” ACP Butler said yesterday. “It was a multi-facetted approach looking at possible suspects from the recent murders to drug trafficking to migrant smuggling.

“The plan was to make contact with the island under the cover of darkness from air, land and sea. We had in excess of 150 officers in the operation.”

ACP Butler said 13 people were brought to New Providence for further investigations. They included a family of three associated with the seizure of a kilo of cocaine at their residence and a family of two arrested after officers found 40 rounds of .40 ammunition. The others were brought in relation to migrant smuggling, drug trafficking and recent homicides.

“There were a number of other minor drug violators associated with minor drug possessions that were processed right in Bimini –– about nine persons in total,” he said.

The operation began at 4am and ended around noon.

Asked if authorities have growing concerns about criminal activity on Bimini, ACP Butler said: “Generally, the people in Bimini are law-abiding people. It’s a small community, but you have a few persons who involve themselves with illegal activity and I want to be careful against branding the law-abiding citizens who are by and large the majority that simply works hand in hand with police with the few who engage in criminal activity and give Bimini an adverse name. From our perspective, we are satisfied that the general populace of Bimini is conforming to the law and have high regards for working in a cordial way for law enforcement. Had it not perhaps been for those two homicides earlier this year, a lot of this attention may not have been on Bimini in such a way. We took this action to maintain a level of calm and ensure a safe community in Bimini.”