CoP confirms hike in ganja prices

Snr Supt Richard Smith inspects one of the bales of compressed marijuana during a 2023 drug bust. - File photo

Police Commissioner (CoP) Allister Guevarro has confirmed that the price of illegal drugs in TT have increased amid efforts by both TT and US forces to stifle the industry.

Last month, an exclusive Sunday Newsday investigative report revealed that the price of marijuana had skyrocketed since the US began targeting alleged drug traffickers with lethal missile strikes in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean.

There have been 15 strikes which have left more than 60 people dead, but the US is yet to produce any official evidence to support their claims the dead men were drug traffickers.

A drug seller told Newsday the price had more than tripled in some instances with Colombian kush marijuana increasing from a low of $1,800 per pound to almost $6,000.

At a media briefing at the Police Administration Building in Port of Spain on November 4, Guevarro said intelligence reaching the TT Police Service (TTPS) from multiple agencies confirmed a reduction in the amount of narcotics entering TT.

“As a result of the recent military strikes which were targeting narco-terrorist maritime operations, they have had a measurable impact on the flow of illegal narcotics into TT.

“The intelligence indicates that there is a current shortage of the illicit drugs, particularly from those trafficked from Venezuela and Colombia, and the disruption has directly affected the availability of narcotics in TT.”

He added this has led to a price increase for illegal drugs.

“In business terms, when there is shortage in supply, cost goes up. So we have detected a marked increase in the price of illegal narcotics on the streets.”

He added the police have also seized nearly two tonnes of marijuana since the bombings began, which has contributed to the shortage.

“On September 12, we seized 268kg of Colombian "Creepy" marijuana, valued at $29 million; on September 30, a targeted operation in Fyzabad seized 201 kg of Colombian "Creepy: marijuana at $22 million; and on October 1, we seized 1177 kg of the same marijuana, valued $292 million .

“In the south-west peninsula on October 21, we intercepted a car and seized 90 packets valued at $5 million and on November 1, we again intercepted another vehicle in Trincity and seized 108 kg.”

Guevarro said efforts are also under way to deal with local planters and growers.

“There are men looking for particular breed of seeds from abroad to bring into TT. But we treating with that already and with marijuana eradication in all those different areas.”

Addressing questions of drug dealers possibly diversifying their criminal portfolio to bolster the financial shortfall they may be experiencing, Guevarro said that has been considered.

Speaking cryptically, he declined to share exactly what strategies were in place to deal with those concerns, but assured it was not being ignored.

“We put strategies to deal with those aspects. But I don't want to say more because you don't go in the bush to hunt and make a set of noise. You move with stealth.”

He suggested the crackdown had also affected the sale of "wild meat" asserting that the majority of "wild meat" usually seen for sale throughout TT was smuggled.

“When you stop the inflow of smuggled items, we are not getting the Venezuelan and Guyanese meat coming in again. So they are not standing up at the side of the road holding the smuggled wild meat."

Guevarro said although some items may still be smuggled into the country, police have been able to make a large dent in smuggling networks.

“We now have a better handle and a better understanding on how the inflows work. So we are now able to capitalise on the intelligence and have some meaningful disruptions.”