Canada has apparently become a major player in the importation of illegal ganja into Grenada.
According to a well-placed source, most of the extra-regional drug seizures made on the St George’s Port in recent months came in barrels from Canada.
She said that workers, especially those attached to the Grenada Ports Authority (GPA) are suspected to be the main culprits in assisting with the movement of illegal drugs from outside the country into the island.
She alluded to one specific barrel that came into the country a few weeks ago without anything else but ganja as the contents.
She told THE NEW TODAY that it is clear that the person behind this particular barrel was confident that the individual in Grenada had persons in position on the St George’s port who would have gotten the barrel out without being opened and inspected by the Customs Department.
“Eventually the Customs detected it and they managed to stop it. Who in their right mind is going to post a barrel full of weed into Grenada if you don’t have contact in (place)?”
Two port employees were called in by members of the Royal Grenada Police (RGPF) and questioned over the importation of the illegal drugs found in the barrel by Customs.
The incident is said to be part of an ongoing police investigation but the two employees were seen back on the job on the main port.
The official indicated that other Port Authority employees on the St George’s Pier exhibited hostility to the police official who was looking into the issue.
She said that one worker who represents the Technical & Allied Workers Union (TAWU) on the port was very aggressive to the police and threatened strike action in support of their colleagues.
She felt that this could be an indication that some of the port workers know exactly what is happening and are simply seeking to protect each other.
According to the female worker on the St George’s Pier, the “biggest problem” the authorities on the island face right now in that major point of entry into the country is Port Authority workers.
“If a man could send in a barrel of weed, who knows how many guns could come in so? They have a real problem with Canada now,” she said.
The employee also alluded to another act of corruption taking place on the port in which goods come into the island and do not go into the system.
She said it is not unusual for an importer to bring in 10 pallets of goods, but only six are tallied by the Port and then the importers gets a hand written pass to move with all ten pallets and in the process robbing the State of Revenue.
There have been reports over the years about the Management of the Port Authority being forced to pay importers for items that went missing on the port apparently through theft by employees.
The female employee called on the Dickon Mitchell-led Congress administration to address the issue of an apparent major lapse in security on the Port.
She complained that a lot of Imanis are currently engaged on the port as police and wearing jerseys marked Port Security but lack proper training in Security.
