Suriname police seize 300 kg cocaine
by Ivan Cairo
Caribbean Net News Suriname Correspondent
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
PARAMARIBO, Suriname: Police in Suriname seized about 300 kg cocaine in a drug bust last Friday night. In a well planned and executed operation by the SWAT-team,
the drug were seized in a house in the capital Paramaribo.
The night raid, in which the SWAT-team was
assisted by the Narcotics Unit, also confiscated a couple of hand grenades and
a quantity ammunition for shotguns and pistols, along with a motorcar. Police also nabbed two male suspects (35 and 27) in the house. Police sources told
Caribbean Net News that probably more arrest will be made in the near future. The Friday night seizure was one of the biggest in recent years in Suriname. Last year police confiscated about 300 kg cocaine when a drug ring of more than 20 people was arrested, including the so called Surinamese ‘Pablo Escobar’. In 2003 police were also successful when, in a joint-operation with the army, 347 kg cocaine was captured along with two Cessna airplanes, jet fuel and grenades. There is no conviction yet in the trials of these suspects. In the late 80s and 90s Suriname became more and more a transition point for drugs from Columbia en route to Holland and the United States of America. There is evidence that there is an
active arms for cocaine trade on Surinamese soil, but until now only a few cases were discovered and solved.
It is believed that the theft of a large number of automatic rifles and pistols from the Central Intelligence and Security Service (CIVD) in July 2003 was also drug-related. Main suspect Dino Bouterse, son of opposition leader and former army commander Desi Bouterse,
was acquitted because of lack of evidence.
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