WESTERN BUREAU:

Up to press time last night, local police could not confirm or deny that a Jamaican ship carrying one tonne of cocaine was seized by Dutch authorities in The Netherlands last week.

The drug, with a reputed street value of €30 million, was found on the ship transporting Whisky, said a report from Reuters.

However, Whisky, a product made in Scotland, Canada and Tennessee in the United States, is a drink that is not exported from these shores.

Awaiting conformation

"Head of Transnational Crime, Superintendent Warren Clarke, is aware of the matter and is trying to link with Dutch authorities and Interpol to get an exact brief on the seizure," head of communications at the Constabulary Communication Network, Karl Angell, told The Gleaner last night.

He said, however, the superintendent's efforts were constrained by the fact that it was night in The Netherlands. "By today, we should be able to confirm or deny the story," he added.

The Reuters report quoted Dutch authorities stating this was their largest seizure ever from the island nation. It also said that the 1,100 kilos of the drug had already been destroyed.

"We've had bigger seizures but not from Jamaica," a spokeswoman for the public prosecutor said.

The report said that a special team comprised of seaport police, customs, the financial crimes investigation service and the public prosecutor's office found the container last week in Rotterdam, Europe's biggest port.

The container was targeted for an in-depth search based on a risk analysis of customs, and was immediately identified as suspicious by a drug dog.

Police arrested five men on Monday at the warehouse in Amsterdam where the container was delivered.

janet.silvera@gleanerjm.com