Jamaica cocaine probe targets nearly a dozen senior police officers and soldiers

Nearly 12 high-ranking Jamaican officers are under investigation after cocaine was found at a disbanded police unit's storage facility in January.

Nearly a dozen senior Jamaican officers targeted in expanding cocaine investigation

Close to twelve high-ranking police officers and soldiers are under investigation in a widening narcotics probe linked to cocaine found inside a police storage facility in January, Barbados Today reports, citing The Gleaner.

Two parcels of cocaine described as "illegal" were discovered during an internal audit of a storage facility belonging to the now-disbanded Counter Terrorism and Organised Crime Division (C-TOC), according to the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF). The find set off a high-level investigation that has since drawn in multiple senior figures from Jamaican law enforcement.

Investigators are also pursuing a separate line of inquiry: sources told The Gleaner that law enforcement personnel may have significantly under-reported the volume of cocaine seized during an earlier operation in western Jamaica.

Weeks after the storage facility discovery, Police Commissioner Dr Kevin Blake transferred more than 40 officers who had been assigned to C-TOC.

The investigation moved into public view on Wednesday when agents from the Major Organised and Anti-Corruption Agency (MOCA) carried out a search of the St Andrew home of a senior officer formerly posted to C-TOC, according to multiple sources. The officer was subsequently taken in handcuffs to two further locations — one in St Andrew and one in Clarendon — where additional searches were conducted.

MOCA confirmed it had executed search and seizure warrants at several addresses across the Corporate Area as part of an ongoing investigation. The agency's director of communications, Major Basil Jarrett, declined to provide further details.

"Due to the sensitive nature of the investigations and today's operations, I am unable to divulge any additional details, except to say that the public will be apprised of more as soon as we are in a position to safely and responsibly do so," Jarrett said.

The audit of the C-TOC facility was itself triggered by an earlier arrest. The JCF said a quantity of cocaine was allegedly found in the private vehicle of Police Inspector Martin Walker, who was assigned to the division, during an operation on January 8. Walker's arrest prompted the internal review that led to the storage facility discovery.

Source: Barbados Today