Mark Bassant
Lead Editor, Investigative Desk
Almost one week after Customs and Excise Division officers found $.3m in cocaine hidden in preserved fruits at the TT National Mail Centre in Piarco they made an even bigger discovery over the last three days amounting to close to TT$5m in cocaine hidden in various packages destined for the United States and other parts of the world.
Senior Customs and Excise Division sources familiar with the latest find told Guardian Media that they had been monitoring several suspicious packages at the TT National Mail Centre since last Friday and began their search then.
During the three day period until 8:30 pm on Monday night Customs and Excise Division officers unearthed close to nine kilograms of cocaine hidden in several items. The cocaine weighed Monday tonight sources say was approximately 6.5 kilograms and Friday’s own is estimated to be close to three kilograms. The estimated street value of one kilogram of cocaine is approximately $80,000US- so the find amounts to close to $720,000US or $4.8m TT.
But most interesting the cocaine was hidden in inventive ways according to sources.
Pictures exclusively obtained by Guardian Medis showed cocaine hidden in benne balls, bottles of channa, speaker boxes, car parts, coffee beans, coconut milk sweets and even fishing lines.
Sources say they also found quantities of cocaine hidden in hammocks.
Most of the packages sources say were destined for various parts of the United States but some were also to be sent to other parts of the world including Europe.
This second cocaine find comes just over a week and a half after Customs and Excise Division officers and the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) made a significant arms and ammunition discovery at a Central warehouse in Couva last Monday night, which followed another large arms and ammunition find two Fridays ago the bond at the Piarco International Airport.
Officials at TT Post had issued a release after the first cocaine discovery at the TT National Mail Centre last week commended their staff and Customs and Excise Division for their diligent work.
Sources believe a particular syndicate is responsible for this latest cocaine find and investigations are ongoing.
No arrests have yet been made for the first cocaine find last week.