The reported presence in Grenada of one of the alleged major players in the illegal drug trade from St Vincent has raised serious questions about the state of readiness of our Security Forces.
THE NEW TODAY has received credible information that the individual has been in Grenada for sometime now without the knowledge of the major players in the Royal Grenada Police Force (RGPF).
It also appears that top members of the Royal St Vincent & The Grenadines Police Force are aware of the presence of the man in Grenada but might not have informed their local counterparts.
This raises the serious question about collaboration and sharing of information among regional police officers.
It is also doubtful that this controversial individual came to our shores illegally but did arrive through a legal port of entry.
A simple check on a laptop by an Immigration Officer would have alerted him/her about the man and his background in criminal activities.
This is indeed a dangerous man from St Vincent as he was one caught on a yacht with cash of US$1.7m believed to be the proceeds from criminal activities including the cocaine trade.
In St Vincent, this individual is often referred to as the “partner in crime” with another Drug Lord from his homeland who was gunned down in Woburn in the south of the island in a crime that is still to be solved by local police.
The word in the Underworld is that this Vincentian so-called businessman is not on a holiday trip to Grenada but on some kind of an important assignment.
Is it to make sure that “something” arrives safely on the island and passes through without being detected to its final destination? Has the mission already been completed?
One other school of thought in the Underworld is that this major player in the drug trade in St Vincent and the region might be looking to relocate his operations to Grenada because of certain problems in his hometown.
Is he trying to do something similar to the other drug lord who was executed in Woburn – getting involved in an arranged marriage to provide legal coverage for him to remain in Grenada?
Fingers are pointing at a major figure on the Carenage as “the fixer” of the previous marriage for the Vincy to operate legally in Woburn.
The Security Forces in Grenada need to flush out this man and to find out his motives in Grenada, as well as those offering him safety.
His apparent presence in Grenada unknown to the top members of RGPF raises questions about recent statements made by Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Vannie Curwen about the readiness of our police to deal with criminal activities especially in light of the State of Emergency (SOE) declared in Trinidad & Tobago to try and arrest the deteriorating crime situation in the twin island republic.
ACP Curwen was trying to give the nation the impression that RGPF has things in place to handle the situation, especially if rogue elements from Port-of-Spain attempt to enter the country.
If this Vincentian drug lord is able to slip into Grenada undetected by RGPF for several weeks then it paints a vastly different picture from that given by this high-ranking member of the local police force.
This is the information coming from inside St Vincent: “Apparently (name withheld) been in Grenada for a while now.”
And local Underworld Figures have said that the Vincy Drug kingpin has been sighted at least on three occasions in recent days in our capital city of St George’s.
It is evident to us that this person of interest has reached a certain level of confidence that he can come out into the open in Grenada to do some kind of business.
A report in a local Vincentian publication said the following about the so-called businessman with a criminal record of 10-years in prison:- “…, He will have to convince the court that EC$10 million in assets he is said to own, are not the proceeds of criminal activity.
On March 9, 2012, at the Serious Offences Court, (name withheld) was convicted for concealing on the yacht “Jotobin” on April 5, 2008, at Calliaqua, US$1,733,463 (EC$4,628,346) and for bringing the money into St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) on the yacht. On July 22, 2013 he was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment with hard labour.
In June 2008, several of (name withheld) assets were frozen by order of the court. The assets include bank accounts, Flexible Premium Annuities with CLICO and vehicles which were registered to him, his family members and associates. Assets belonging to (name withheld) and his relatives were also frozen in Trinidad and St Lucia.
As far back as 2014, it had been said that (name withheld) assets were being pursued and that his EC$1.6 million home in Pembroke was to be made into a government polyclinic.”
This is the man who has slipped quietly into Grenada under the radar of RGPF.