Cops estimate cocaine found at Kingston port worth US $80 million

After investigating its value, the police have estimated that the cocaine seized at the Kingston port on Saturday, January 14, 2023, is worth US$80 million, that's about $9 billion Jamaican dollars. 

The police also revealed that over one thousand five hundred (1,500) kilograms of cocaine was found during a multi-agency operation. Unfortunately, no one was arrested in connection to this big drug bust. 

Teams from the JCF Narcotics Division, the Jamaica Defence Force, and the Jamaica Customs Agency made the discovery at about 3 am, during the search of a cargo vessel coming from South America.

According to the JDF, the operation on Saturday is part of the continued joint efforts by the security forces in Jamaica to twart transnational criminal organisations seeking to use Jamaica for its favored geographic location in world trade, by exploiting legitimate cargo moving through the country's maritime domain.

"With the bolstering of our maritime assets, the JDF is now better equipped to identify and interdict suspect vessels offshore and provide the required support to other arms of our nation's security mechanism to make Jamaica a safer country for our citizens," JDF said in an Instagram post.