The operations involved officers from Customs joining law enforcement personnel from St. Maarten to assist counterparts in Anguilla in a range of surveillance activities. The activities included using the services of Customs K- 9 Unit to search a number of locations in Anguilla. These locations included several ports of entry in Anguilla, its prison and various post offices.

In another operation, Customs K-9 Unit assisted with searching a dwelling house and its immediate surrounding areas. Other activities included a joint patrol of the territorial waters of Anguilla, which resulted in a number of suspect vehicles being boarded and searched. As a consequence of these joint operations in Anguilla, 11 cannabis plots were located––and in excess of 650 mature plants seized.

Superintendent of the Royal Anguilla Police Force Rudolph Proctor said he was pleased with the level of support law enforcement officers from the BVI Customs Department and St. Maarten gave to his organisation. BVI Comptroller of Customs Wade Smith thanked the officers from his department for being willing to assist another territory in its drive to enhance law enforcement.

The Comptroller said last weekend’s initiative in Anguilla is a demonstration of how cooperation in law enforcement can help to reduce criminal activity in the region and bring perpetrators of wrongdoing to justice.

Like the BVI, Anguilla is a United Kingdom Overseas Territory, and shares the same associate member status as the Virgin Islands in the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States and the Caribbean Community.