Drug smugglers responsible for the booming narcotics trade in Bermuda are streets ahead of Police and Customs in the resources they have at their disposal.

Police Commissioner Jean-Jacques Lemay told The Royal Gazette yesterday that in order to seize drug traffickers coming onto the Island, officers had to work with their counterparts overseas to build intelligence and target individuals.

He said: "These people are very well equipped. We don't have the resources they have.

"Researchers tell us that Police seize anywhere between ten to 20 percent of the total brought in. It's not very much.

"But we don't know how much of it is actually coming in without it being detected. What I do know is that we are doing everything we can at the points of entry to seize what we can.'' He said Police on the Island had just purchased the latest equipment, which tells them in seven seconds whether or not somebody had handled drugs by simply taking a simple swab from their hand.

However, the sheer number of drug smugglers makes it impossible to catch everyone.

That was why, said Mr. Lemay, intelligence had to be the key.

He said officers were aware that smugglers were getting drugs into the Country by using cruise ships, cargo and passenger planes and small boats.

Traffickers have even been said to use jet skis to pick up drugs dumped in the ocean off the Bermuda coastline, which has been tagged with global positioning systems to allow pin-point pick ups.

Mr. Lemay was speaking during a break in the first day of a special think tank of top Police officers and Customs chiefs from UK Caribbean territories, gathered in Bermuda yesterday.

It was the first time in the history of the annual conference that Customs controllers had been invited to take part.

During the next three days, Customs and Police officers from each of the islands will discuss the areas where they have problems or particular needs, before sharing their information to see how they can assist each other.

There will also be overseas territories experts on hand to provide the Police and Customs chiefs with advice on how best to tackle the problem of drug and illicit goods smuggling.

Police and Customs fight battle against high-tech drug smugglers Mr. Lemay added: "We are going to present to the advisers the needs of each respective country and then identify how the UK and maybe the FBI can assist us.'' Bermuda Customs controller Winniefred Fostine-Desilva said the three-day conference would allow all of the representatives to share information.

She added: "What we will be talking about during the next three days will be the procedures we use and how we can improve them.

"We have the best equipment on the Island, but it is true that the professional drug traffickers are better resourced. In working together, we can share the knowledge and maybe the resources we have.'' Randolph Straughan, Controller of Customs in Barbados and also chairman of the Caribbean Customs Law Enforcement Council, said the intention of the conference was to ensure that law enforcement agencies presented a unified stand against criminals.

"We are talking about narcotics trafficking and money laundering. They are both big problems,'' he said.

"But the law enforcement agencies worldwide are disadvantaged because their resources are scarce in comparison to the resources of the transnational criminals.

"But our strength lies in sharing resources and maximising the use of technology and ensuring that the countermeasures are intelligence driven. Then we will be able to achieve significant success.'' Meeting of the minds: Bermuda's Police Commissioner Jean-Jacques Lemay (L) talks with Randolph Straughan, Controller of Customs in Barbados and also chairman of the Caribbean Customs Law Enforcement Council, (middle), and Bermuda Governor Thorold Masefield.

CUSTOMS CUS POLICE POL DRUGS DGS