(Reuters)–ROAD TOWN, BVI–November 11th, 2020–Police in the British Virgin Islands have made arrests in one of the biggest drug busts of all time, it was announced today.
A record 2.35 ton haul of cocaine worth more than $250 million has was discovered after a covert operation led to the arrest of one local police officer, the islands’ police force said.
When police arrived at the property, several people fled but officers discovered 2,353 kg of cocaine in a container unit.
“This seizure has a conservative estimated ‘street value’ of some $250,000,000,” BVI Police Commissioner Michael Matthews said in a statement.
“It is the largest seizure ever made in the BVI and the largest single seizure in the history of the RVIPF. It is also potentially one of the largest ever seized by a UK force,” he said.
Speaking to the landmark operation during a press conference on yesterday, Matthews said the Friday, 6 November 2020 operation was worthy of praise.
In a joint press conference with Governor Augustus Jaspert who has portfolio responsibility for national security, Commissioner Matthews said two persons were arrested — one of whom is a police officer.
They have been identified as 41-year-old police constable, Darren Davis and his 40-year-old brother, Liston Davis. Officer Davis has been a law enforcer for more than 20 years.
The operation in question was conducted on a property in Balsam Ghut.
Commissioner Matthews said the police were unable to arrest some persons who fled the premises where the drugs were found. He revealed that the drug bust was possible because of many weeks of covert investigations by the security forces.
“We’ve been suspicious for some time about what may be occurring,” Commissioner Matthews said.
However, due to security reasons, the Commissioner said he could not reveal whether information from the public led to the seizure and arrests made on Friday.
But he confirmed that as protocol dictates, the drugs will be destroyed once it has been tested.
“There’s no value in keeping this stuff anywhere and we plan to have it destroyed fairly quickly,” the Commissioner assured.
He stated that a total of 2,353 kilos of cocaine, or 2.3 metric tons, was found in a container unit, a three-yard truck and a Ford Explorer jeep, all situated on this property.
Commissioner Matthews also told reporters that the RVIPF has asked for help from the United Kingdom as the investigation goes on. He said more arrests should be expected.
