Barbados Customs seizes guns and drugs as smuggling grows more sophisticated
Finance Minister Ryan Straughn says Customs is intensifying border security as illegal firearms and drug smuggling attempts increase. Officers recently seized 12 guns, ammo, cocaine and meth.
Straughn: Customs steps up fight against firearms and narcotics at Barbados borders
Barbados' Customs and Excise Department is facing increasingly sophisticated smuggling attempts as criminals seek new routes to bring illegal firearms, drugs and other prohibited goods into the country, barbadostoday.bb reports. Finance Minister Ryan Straughn made the remarks at a press conference on Tuesday marking the department's 121st anniversary.
Straughn identified border security as one of three core functions of Customs, alongside revenue collection and the facilitation of legitimate trade. He acknowledged that the challenge is growing as smugglers adapt their methods.
"Even though we've deployed as much technology as we can and we will continue to deploy more technology, nothing really beats human intelligence, and training our officers is part of that effort," Straughn said. "Therefore we will continue to improve on the training of our officers whilst deploying technology to try to make it easier for people to facilitate legitimate trade."
On the question of firearms, the minister was direct: no country in the Caribbean manufactures guns, meaning every firearm entering Barbados requires a valid import licence issued by the Commissioner of Police. Any weapon brought in outside that framework is illegal.
"If you are not doing so within that framework, then it is not legitimate trade — in much the same way that illicit drugs, narcotics and other harmful substances, crystal meth and those types of things, which we've seen a significant increase across the Americas, is something that the customs department, working with partners, tries to make sure we prevent from entering Barbados," he said.
His remarks came one day after new Comptroller of Customs Lynette Padmore disclosed that the department had recently seized 12 firearms, 15 magazines and approximately 900 rounds of ammunition, as well as cocaine, methamphetamines and other banned substances.
Straughn also highlighted the operational disruption that illegal imports cause at the island's ports. He described a scenario in which a routine cargo clearance is halted because undeclared weapons are discovered in a shipment, forcing police to respond and bringing legitimate business at the facility to a standstill.
"So these things really matter because the police, customs, and everybody who's involved in law enforcement, they've got to do their job to make sure that everything is done in the way that it should be," he said.
The minister stressed that inaccurate or misleading customs declarations carry consequences beyond lost revenue. He cited the example of crystal methamphetamine concealed among goods declared as vitamins, warning that such smuggling creates both border security and public health risks.
"Compliance matters because we do not want to have a situation where we have more addicts in the community," Straughn said. "It is something that is of growing concern across the country."
Straughn said Customs would continue investing in both technology and officer training as it works to balance tightened border controls with the smooth processing of legitimate trade.
Source: Google News BB — Crime