Recent criminal activities linked to the village of Woburn should be met with a swift reaction from the Security Forces in the country.
Those elements who are committing the drug-related crimes in the country should not be allowed to think that they are above the law.
Within the past month, the village was used as the base for two frightening acts that are very much not Grenadian like – harbouring professional killers to execute persons on the island.
The deadly shooting at Egmont on Carnival Monday and now the execution of a reputed Drug Lord a few days ago cannot be the work of locals.
The common thread that links these two killings had an involvement of Cocaine.
The Police have evidence that the 30-year old who was shot dead at the luxury home in Egmont had 5 kilos of cocaine in his possession.
The Vincentian national who was gunned down on Monday at Woburn had run into problems with law enforcement officials in his homeland, as well as the British Virgin Islands and in Spice country, with the possession of large quantities of cocaine.
Information is coming out from the Underworld of Crimes that this individual is alledgedly mixed up in the recent execution of five persons in St Vincent, as well as allegations about the missing 500 kilos of Cocaine from the suppliers of the illegal drug in Venezuela.
It is obvious that Woburn is now harbouring criminal elements who pose a threat to the safety and security of the State.
THE NEW TODAY is calling for the immediate establishment of a strong police presence in the area with a Police Station to be placed there almost overnight in a prominent and strategic part of the village.
The Security Forces have to send a serious message to those misguided individuals that if they do not abandon their course of action then they will have to be crushed and destroyed in the interest of the vast majority of our people.
There are other villages in Grenada where some of the residents are involved in the illegal drug trade but Woburn is strategically located and all the more important for the players in the business.
If the villagers are honest they will admit that over 40 years ago, some of the younger residents became heavily involved in drugs and some of them even used the proceeds to build massive homes and also invested heavily in Real Estate.
A few of our politicians were also beneficiaries of the illegal drug trade in the Woburn area.
In their desire to consolidate their illegal business, a few of the drug men were known to have used some of their money to buy rice and other goods to give to some politicians to hand out to their supporters.
The High Command of RGPF should give high priority to Community Policing in Woburn as part of the fight against the criminal elements in the area.
THE NEW TODAY is also calling on the Ministry of National Security to advocate for the passage in Parliament of legislation that empowers a sitting Magistrate or Judge to allow the Royal Grenada Police Force (RGPF) to place monitoring devices on those persons who are caught with huge amounts of illegal drugs and other kinds of criminal activities.
It is not in the interest of the State for these persons to be allowed to get bail in court and then return to society as if nothing happened and continue to engage in their illegal business.
The new legislation should also provide a guide to the law courts to deny bail to some of these persons who are major players in the drug trade.
The execution-style killings that have shown its ugly face in Grenada is a threat to even the Judiciary if not stamped out through swift action.
It will create panic in the lives of citizens who will witness a crime but deliberately choose not to come forward and give evidence to the Police due to fear or reprisals from the criminal elements.
The 14-month old Congress government of Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell should now understand that the recent executions could be a game changer in the fight by the police to obtain the assistance of the public in bringing to justice those who commit certain violent crimes on the island.
The government should now seek to invest in a Forensic Laboratory to better equip RGPF in crime fighting.
There is no need to attack the former NNP regime for its lack of foresight in not investing in the laboratory but the new rulers should see it as a worthwhile investment as a tool in helping to safeguard the state against the actions of criminal elements.
All efforts should be made to rebuild the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Police Force through a series of training for some of the best officers and not become a tool of politicians to serve their agenda.