Ganja from Jamaica worth millions found at Trinidad port - Drugs found hidden in frozen chicken parts

PORT-OF-SPAIN (CMC):

Trinidadian customs officials have seized nearly one tonne of compressed marijuana in a 40-foot refrigerated container that was reportedly shipped from Jamaica.

In a statement, the Customs and Excise Department said that officers Thursday found 38 crocus bags containing the 921 kilograms of the illegal drug in the container which also contained frozen chicken parts.

The drug had a street value of TT$7.4 million (US$1.2 million or more that J$100,00 million).

"This seizure is part of an ongoing joint operation between the Customs and Excise Division and Point Lisas port security which started at the beginning of the year. Containers that come into the port which fit a particular profile are singled out for inspection," said the communications specialist at the Customs and Excise Division, Alicia Charles.

The container had been addressed to a businessman in Central Trinidad, but the authorities said investigations were ongoing to determine those responsible for the shipment.

It's the third multimillion-dollar drug interdiction at the port for the year. In all of the cases, the containers with the narcotics passed through a port in Jamaica.

The container had left the United States onboard a cargo ship, but had stopped off in Jamaica.

Customs believe the marijuana was stashed inside the container in Jamaica. Portions of the original cargo in the container were removed and replaced with the marijuana to ensure there was no change in the original weight of the cargo.

The container, which had arrived two days before on the vessel Vega Saturn, belongs to a Central businessman, but Customs sources were unable to say if he had knowledge of the drug.