Jamaica Seizes 7-Ton Cargo of Marijuana
Jamaacan officials seized a U.S.-registered vessel with seven tons of marijuana and arrested an American, two Cuban-Americans and two Jamaicans aboard, the government news agency JAMPRESS said last week.
JAMPRESS said the vessel, the name of which was not given, was seized Wednesday by the Jamaica Defense Force 11 miles off the island’s north coast.
The five crewmen were identified as Vincent Sterra, 40, and Roberto Condera, 46, both fishermen from Miami; Steven Santan of Key West; Alrick McGhie, 25, a taxi driver from Montego Bay, Jamaica, and Douglas Thomas, 26, a construction supervisor from St. Ann, Jamaica.
The news agency said the seizure demonstrated the government’s “commitment to fighting the illegal trafficking of drugs in Jamaica through interdiction.” It added that in 1984 officials confiscated 450,000 pounds of marijuana and 808 pounds of cocaine.
Jamaica, which is the Caribbean’s major U.S. supplier of marijuana, has been under pressure from the Reagan Administration to step up its drug enforcement measures.
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