BVI News

New joint intelligence team being established

Commissioner of Customs Wade Smith

Commissioner of Her Majesty’s Customs, Wade Smith has announced that a new intelligence-sharing body is now being formulated within the territory’s law enforcement fraternity.

“Through the Joint Task Force, we’re establishing what is called the Joint Intelligence Unit or the Joint Intelligence Office,” Smith said.

He made the announcement during an interview on ZBVI radio after a large quantity of a substance believed to be cocaine was discovered in a container at the BVI Port Authority’s Purcell cargo facility.

The Customs boss said the Unit is expected to have an intelligence officer from each of the three main law enforcement agencies – the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force, Her Majesty’s Customs and the Immigration Department – working closely together to gather and disseminate intelligence to the operational units of the law enforcement agencies of the Joint Task Force (JTF).

The news comes against the backdrop of reports that there have been challenges experienced in the past with intelligence sharing across the BVI’s various law enforcement agencies.

Police Commissioner Mark Collins said there was a lack of trust between law enforcement agencies and said this lack of trust hampers effective collaboration. Collins suggested that there was a degree of cultural resistance responsible for the deficiency and said this was compounded by a lack of training on the part of some officers.

Investigations ongoing in drug find at ports

As for the suspected drugs discovered at Port Purcell, Commissioner Smith said the contraband amounted to about 44 kilos. He said investigations on the find remain ongoing.

In a bid to preserve the integrity of these investigations, the Customs boss declined to answer questions on whether the suspected drugs were addressed to a local person. He also declined to say the country from where the items originated.

However, Smith noted that the suspected drugs were now in the custody of the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force.

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12 Comments

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  1. Doh says:

    BVI joint intelligence. An Oxymoron if I ever heard one…

    Like 20
    Dislike 2
    • Vasci says:

      My friend said she worked with Bvislanders for years and wondered why they never stopped work for coffee. Then she realised it was to avoid having to retrain them when they finished the drink.
      Just sayin’

      Like 4
      Dislike 2
    • Fox guarding the henhouse says:

      As long as our **** boy in charge is checking the borders ?

  2. @Doh says:

    By your comments We can see why Our People are being stumped. Darm if they Do and Darm if they don’t. If you feel you can come up with a better solution why not state them instead of trying to throw shade.

    Like 3
    Dislike 9
  3. WE KNOW says:

    That ain’t gonna work, point blank / when there are people who is on the inside and people on the outside / WHY you think the royal navy was refused ? But they had already gathered enough information on the runnings⁷ of these jokers who think they are UNTOUCHABLE

    Like 23
  4. Expose the trade says:

    Can someone inform the Governor about who is in charge locally of the 30 year drug trade or are we still pretending this does not happen?

  5. Guest says:

    LOL..Sure………ROTFLMFAO ….??????

  6. Anonymous says:

    @Vasci, If your opinion of the British Virgin Islanders is so low,”why the hell you don’t go back to where ever the hell you came from? I can’t understand why you would want to stay in a country where the people are so stupid you have to retrain them every 15 minutes.

    Like 2
    Dislike 1
  7. WEW says:

    JOINT intel ? Dem talk bout marijuana ?

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