US authorities have uncovered a major cocaine and weapons smuggling ring operating out of The Bahamas and have nabbed 11 locals including several police officers and a soldier triggering calls for a major overhaul of the police force protecting a country that is the nearest geographically to the US.
The arrest of the group in the past week has placed tremendous political pressure on the administration of Prime Minister Phillip Davis with calls for the immediate resignation of Minister of National Security Wayne Munroe and Police Chief Clayton Fernander, who has since resigned. The main opposition Free National Movement (FNM) party dubbed the two as woefully ineffective as it called for their departure and a commission of inquiry into operations of a force that PM Davis admits has too many corrupt elements.
Unsealed recently, the indictment fingers Chief Superintendent Elvis Curtis, officer-in-charge of the airport division, Sergeant Prince Albert Symonette, a close associate of Curtis, Defense Force Chief Petty Officer Darrin Roker as conspirators who helped to organized and supervise the transshipment of large amounts of cocaine from South America through The Bahamas and finally into the US. Two Colombians are also among those nabbed and facing charges in New York’s federal courts.
“The increase in cocaine flow through The Bahamas has been a direct result of drug fueled corruption that has infected various Bahamian institutions,” the indictment noted. “More specifically, since at least in or about May 2021, corrupt high-ranking members of the RBPF and other Bahamian government officials have worked with Colombian and Bahamian drug traffickers to facilitate the receipt, protection and safe passage of massive cocaine shipments through the airports and ports of The Bahamas.”
Addressing parliament on the issue, an embarrassed PM Davis noted that “this house and the Bahamian people deserve answers. The government of The Bahamas will act decisively to ensure that those responsible for these breaches, regardless of rank or position, are held accountable. This betrayal will not go unanswered. In light of these serious allegations, I want to assure this house and the Bahamian people that my government will act swiftly and decisively. We will engage with our U.S. partners and assist fully in this investigation.”
Officials say that the archipelago which involves more than 700 islands- only about 30 inhabited-and dozens of cays makes it easy to traffic cocaine and to engage in illegal activity as most are unmonitored.
Officials say that many locals now fear that the continued designation of the country as a major transshipment point for illicit drugs could trigger an end to the decades-old arrangement with the US through which travelers to the mainland are pre-cleared of immigration and US customs in The Bahamas, easing the stress of joining long queues on arrival at American ports.
The Bahamas had faced a similar drug smuggling dilemma back in the mid-80s and the question of whether the US would have abandoned the pre-clearance system had also surfaced back then.
Davis told legislators that he had been forced to raise intelligence indications that had shown a sharp increase of drugs passing through the Bahamas with American officials several times this year and officials will push for even closer cooperation to stamp out the scourge.
“For more than three years, it has pieced together evidence that paints a damning picture of collusion and corruption. Let there be no doubt: The Bahamian people deserve accountability for every act of betrayal committed during this time. The tree will be shaken until every bad apple falls. To those who believe they can outsmart the systems of justice and intelligence, let this serve as a clear and stern warning: the days of operating in the shadows are over. You will be found, and you will be held accountable.”
