Nearly 6,000 Cannabis Plants Destroyed in St John Drug Sweep

Police uprooted 5,968 cannabis plants worth over $1.4m in St John on Saturday. No arrests were made as investigations continue.

Operation Green Bay targets illicit cannabis farms across St John parishes

Officers from the Special Operations Management Division fanned out across rural communities in St John on Saturday morning, uprooting and destroying 5,968 cannabis plants with a combined street value exceeding $1.4 million, Barbados Today reports.

The early-morning sweep, designated Operation Green Bay, targeted dense brush and farmland in four areas — Welch, Cliff Cottage, Bath Land and Colleton. The plants ranged from small seedlings to mature specimens standing up to eight feet tall; authorities confirmed the total seized vegetation weighed 356.79 kilograms.

No arrests were made during the operation. Police said investigations are continuing as they work to identify the individuals behind the cultivation network.

Residents describe dawn arrival and lingering stench

For many living in the affected communities, the first indication that something unusual was underway came before sunrise — a heavy smell from the harvested plants and the sight of law enforcement vehicles moving through the area. Officers remained on site until shortly after noon.

One long-time resident, who said he has lived in the parish for more than 65 years, described the scale of what was uncovered near his home as unprecedented.

"When it passed there, it really affected me," he said. "It was very strong. To have so much, nearly six thousand, that is true. I have lived here, me and my kids, at least 65 years and I have never seen this environment like this yet. I have never seen anything like that before."

He connected the appeal of illicit cultivation to economic pressures facing young people in the area. "It looks very ridiculous. Planting and then put my house in danger. It is a lot of money, but see, young boys, it is like they don't care at all. You can't stop the wasteful planting, you know? When they are planting, they are going to want money, so they will continue."

His message to those involved was direct: "Don't plant more because you put yourself in trouble, you end up in jail, and when you're done, you're going to feel the pain. The police are doing their job, they have a job to do."

Drones used as officers work terrain methodically

A second resident described how officers moved systematically through the landscape, deploying surveillance technology during the sweep.

"From minutes to five in the morning, the men started rolling in," he said. "They searched down here first, then they went up, searching everything with drones and flames. They didn't leave until a little after 12. That is a long time. But the police have got to do what they have got to do."

He was less optimistic about the lasting impact of operations of this kind, however, arguing that dismantling one growing site does little to address the root causes driving cultivation.

"How it is, they go after one on the island and another door opens up for another," he said. "The drugs that they are finding locally cannot amass to what police cannot catch. Since around 2002, St John got stigmatized as a whole agricultural place for marijuana. But there is a trickle-down effect. When youngsters aren't getting anywhere and they can't get any work, the next best thing they are going to do is go out and plant, because they need money."

Some residents largely unaffected by the morning's events

Not all those living nearby were drawn into the drama. One woman said she noticed little beyond a truck passing as she prepared to leave for her daily routine.

"I saw a truck come down, so I was like, okay, something is going on, and that was it," she said. "I had to leave home to go about my lawful business, so I had a shower, stepped in the car, and went on. The drugs don't really interest me or concern me, I don't get in their way, and they don't get in mine. The police were just doing regular policing work."

Police have urged anyone with information about the ownership of the seized crops to come forward as the investigation continues.

Source: Barbados Today