Police seized more than 1,400 kilograms of cocaine below a steep cliff on the coast of Virgin Gorda last week, and they burned most of it onsite after taking samples for evidence, they said Monday.
The drugs were found during an overnight multi-agency operation that also resulted in seven arrests, police said Monday in a press release that did not name the people who were detained.
“The intelligence-led operation was launched on June 17 following investigations by the Joint Task Force into suspected drug trafficking within BVI waters,” the release stated. “On June 18, officers discovered a crashed vessel off the coast of Virgin Gorda and recovered large quantities of cocaine scattered in the surrounding area. Seven individuals were arrested in connection with drug trafficking and immigration offences.”
Officers injured
Besides the police, the operation involved the Department of Immigration, His Majesty’s Customs, and “external law enforcement partners,” police said.
“As part of the recovery, officers executed a challenging mission involving a 200-foot descent down a steep cliff to retrieve packages lodged between rocks and reef near a local bay,” according to the release, which provided no further information about the location. “A number of officers sustained injuries during the operation and were treated on Virgin Gorda and Tortola.”
Because of the steep terrain and the “deteriorated condition” of the cocaine packages, officials decided to destroy most of the drugs onsite, police said.
“This decision was taken in consultation with the Office of the Governor and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions,” according to the release. “The controlled destruction of the drugs was carried out through burning and was witnessed by independent observers unaffiliated with law enforcement.”
Police did not provide further information about the observers or explain why they were allowed to witness the events. They did say, however, that the drug burn was carefully recorded.
“The entire process was documented with video footage and photographs at key stages,” the release stated. “Sufficient evidence, including retained samples of the drugs, has been preserved to support ongoing prosecution.”
Police have not named the seven people who were detained or said whether they have been charged. They also have not provided further information about the injured officers.
Acting Police Commissioner Jacqueline Vanterpool thanked the agencies that assisted with the operation and praised the officers involved.
“This operation is a powerful demonstration of what can be achieved through collaboration, courage and commitment,” she said. “Our officers faced significant risks, but their determination to protect these islands from the scourge of drug trafficking never wavered.”
Record seizure
Last week’s seizure is one of the largest since a record bust in November 2020 that netted over 2.3 tonnes of cocaine at the site of a house a policeman had been building in Balsam Ghut.
At the time, police said the bust was the largest in the history of the Virgin Islands and likely in any of the British overseas territories.
Like last week’s find, the 2.3 tonnes were destroyed, but only after being tested by a qualified chemist to make sure that they were actually cocaine, police said at the time. Then a magistrate inspected the stash to confirm that it wouldn’t be needed for evidential purposes.
After that, an order was signed “to ship the drugs out for destruction,” police said at the time.
Other busts
Other recent drug busts have come close to that size.
On the night of Aug. 27, 2021, the United States Coast Guard seized approximately 1,700 kilograms of cocaine in the waters near Anegada after smugglers fled the area, officials said at the time.
And on March 5, 2024, police seized 60 bales containing about 1,800 kilograms of cocaine shortly after 8 p.m. after intercepting a go-fast boat near Hodges Creek in what they described as the territory’s largest sea seizure ever.
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