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POLICE are investigating the circumstances in which a speedboat containing a large amount of cannabis ended up in the waters of the Turks and Caicos Islands.
At around 3 a.m. on Thursday March 26 – when the entire territory was under curfew – Marine Branch officers were dispatched to investigate the presence of a boat in local waters.
Arriving on the vessel, a 31ft blue speedboat, officers made several attempts to stop it, but the captain refused to comply. Naval officers gave chase aboard the MV Sea Pursuit.
Police reported that the illegal boat came ashore and around 10 people escaped into the bushes before the vessel was seized.
Officers from the tactical and forensic support units were called in to carry out further investigations into the boat.
Police said their investigations revealed six black travel bags containing an assortment of plastic-wrapped parcels on board.
Another count of packaged packages revealed 36 packages containing suspected cannabis.
According to police, the estimated street value of the suspected drugs was $852,000.
Officers would not say if the vessel was cleared in local waters, where it may have come from or if they have any suspects in custody as investigations are still ongoing.
Commenting on the seizure, Police Commissioner Trevor Botting said while his officers are focused on keeping people safe as part of the COVID-19 response, they are still very determined to catch criminals looking to commit crimes. serious.
“I want to reassure the public and warn criminals, we are still fighting crime and we remain committed to keeping TCI safe and secure,” the commissioner said.
