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Contact:
Virnet St. Omer-Fontenelle
Thursday, April 15, 2004 - Saint Lucia is leading other countries in the
Eastern Caribbean in the eradication of marijuana fields. That is the word from
Commissioner of Police, Ausbert Regis. He says the force has been on an
aggressive campaign to destroy marijuana plants island wide.
The latest eradication exercise was conducted on Wednesday, April 15th, 2004
when fifteen lawmen under the auspices of the Drugs Unit combed the hills and
valleys of Grace, Vieux-Fort, uprooting and burning marijuana plants in a fight
the police say is being conducted at the source of the supply chain.
Head of the Drugs Unit, Inspector Henry Inglis says the mission is to ensure
that no marijuana grown in Saint Lucia reaches the street.
Mr. Regis, who joined his men in the field where the latest eradication drive
took place, says his men are working hard and having success in frustrating the
efforts to get drugs into the streets. He commended the officers, whom he said
seldom attract positive attention even when they are working against tremendous
odds.
The drug eradication on Wednesday yielded a bounty for police. Over 2,000 plants
with a wholesale value of $70,000 were destroyed. In 2003 police destroyed over
40,000. With this latest count in a single excursion, the tally is mounting this
year.
Inspector Inglis says despite the police resolve to take the fight to the
fields, more marijuana plots are springing up. He says the police are committed
to the course.
The men and women leading the fight contend with more than one enemy, as the
desperate owners of the illegal marijuana plots, rough terrain, and the absence
of a key ally in the drug war make the exercise difficult and dangerous. This
year, the police are not counting on the support of the United States on the
ground. Commissioner Regis says with the new priorities of the military, no
aerial support has been promised for this year.
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