In Brief
- Billion-dollar burn: The Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) has destroyed over $1.68 billion worth of seized narcotics at the Caroni Cremation Site.
- Government commitment: Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar reaffirmed her administration’s dedication to dismantling the illegal drug trade and protecting families.
- Targeting networks: The Prime Minister warned that the government, aided by international law enforcement, is actively rooting out drug mafia accomplices in the financial and public sectors.
- Historic seizures: The destroyed drugs originate from major busts over the years, including the 2005 Mono Island cocaine seizure and the 2024 Caroni Swamp marijuana seizure.
- Public transparency: Police Commissioner Allister Guevarro stated that the public destruction exercise was conducted to promote openness and accountability.
By Alicia Chamely
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar is reaffirming her government’s commitment to dismantling the illegal drug trade, as the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) confirms the destruction of $1.68 billion worth of narcotics.
On Tuesday, via social media, Persad-Bissessar praised the efforts of the TTPS after confirming they had destroyed over $1.68 billion worth of seized narcotics at the Caroni Cremation Site earlier that morning.
Persad-Bissessar pointed out that the value of the drugs amounted to approximately one per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product.
Extending her gratitude to the country’s protective services, she stated that through their efforts, “these drugs did not make it onto our streets to poison our children and destroy families.”
Reaffirming her government’s position on the illegal drug trade, the Prime Minister stated, “Your UNC government and the protective services will continue our fight against the local drug mafia who were allowed to run rampant for ten years under the PNM.”
“The local drug mafia that got so much under the PNM’s time in office is over. Not only are we going after their physical shipments of drugs, we are also displacing their accomplices in our financial institutions, distribution networks, and public sector with the help of international law enforcement,” Persad-Bissessar stated.
Present at the Caroni Cremation Site, overseeing the destruction of the seized narcotics, were Homeland Security Minister Roger Alexander and Police Commissioner Allister Guevarro.
The drugs being destroyed came from several significant drug busts over the years, including the 2005 Mono Island cocaine seizure and the 2024 Caroni Swamp marijuana seizure.
Speaking to the media, Guevarro said the exercise of destroying the drugs publicly was to promote “openness, accountability, transparency.”
He added, “We’re destroying it here for the world to see.”
