Gareth Davis Sr, Gleaner Writer

The Ministry of National Security is keeping a close watch on the coastline of Manchioneal, Portland, as it is reportedly being used by persons involved in the illicit drugs-for-guns trade and the trafficking of narcotics.

National Security Minister Derrick Smith said Thursday evening that Manchioneal was a prime area used frequently by persons involved in the cocaine trade. Speaking at the end of a two-day tour of police stations in Portland, Smith said the area was being used by persons involved in the transportation of marijuana for guns to the neighbouring island of Haiti.

"Portland is probably the parish with the lowest crime rate islandwide," he said at the Buff Bay Police Station. "And we intend to keep it that way. The problem of drug trafficking along that coastal area is being addressed as only recently, we opened a marine station at Bowden in St Thomas, which has led to an increase in the patrolling of the coastal area leading down to Manchioneal."

intelligence

Smith said it has been determined that narcotics could again surface in that area and, as a result, surveillance has been stepped up and intelligence gathering has been widened. He said police personnel at the Manchioneal Police Station have been given the assurance that assistance is being provided in order to dismantle all illicit operations in the area.

Just last year, members of the Port Antonio Special Squad recovered more than 500 lb of compressed ganja - with a street value of more than $2 million, packed in kegs and ready for export - in a cottage at Manchioneal. That find gave rise to suspicions that the drug was destined for Haiti, to be exchanged for arms.