Not only has the United States blamed Jamaica for delaying the extradition of alleged arms and drug trafficker Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke, but also the country has been singled out as the Caribbean’s largest source of marijuana export to that country.  The latest International Narcotics Control Strategy Report also identified Jamaica as a transit point for cocaine trafficked from South America.

Based on its findings, it is alleged that local security forces were less active pursuing drug pushers last year compared to the previous year.  Drug-related arrests were relatively stagnant at 6,346 arrests for 2009.  Drug seizure levels showed a dramatic decrease with approximately 9 metric tons of marijuana seized — just over one-thirds of nearly 32 metric tons in 2008.  The security forces seized 222 kilograms of cocaine, 2,785 Ecstasy tablets and 3.2 metric tons of hashish.

The Report identified natural environmental barriers such as swamps, marshes and mountainous terrains among factors, which hampered efforts to conduct marijuana crop surveys.  Marijuana is grown in areas generally inaccessible to vehicular traffic on small plots in both rocky terrain and along the tributaries of the Black River in St Elizabeth, Clarendon and Westmoreland.

Eradication of marijuana, the Report states, decreased last year, with 254.9 hectares eliminated compared with 423 hectares eliminated in 2008.  Much of this was due to fiscal constraints within the Jamaica Defence Force.  Jamaican law also prohibits the use of herbicides; therefore, only manual eradication is conducted.

Drug flow/transit

The Report indicated that cocaine smugglers continued to use maritime containers, couriers, checked luggage, and bulk commercial shipments to move cocaine through Jamaica to the United States.  There was a noticeable increase by law enforcement in detection of liquid cocaine secreted into consumer goods and luggage.  Marijuana traffickers continue to barter for cocaine and illegal weapons.

While noting that cooperation between Government of Jamaica (GOJ) and US Government (USG) law enforcement agencies remained strong, the US State Department seems upset with Government’s delays in extraditing Coke.  The US used the delays by the Government to send Coke to the US to face trial for alleged guns and drug trafficking, to question its commitment “to law enforcement cooperation with the US.

The Report also referred to the Government’s ambitious anticorruption and anticrime legislative agendas announced in 2007, which remain stalled in Parliament.  Additionally, five anticrime proposals under consideration, as part of an extensive agenda to address the widespread crime, have yet to be debated by Parliament.