RCIPS drug interdiction caught on camera
(CNS): Police have released video footage taken from the RCIPS helicopter when a marine patrol came across a boat packed with drugs off the coast of Grand Cayman last November. Five men were arrested and the 32-foot boat seized when it was discovered about two miles south of Pedro Bluff carrying more than 600lbs of ganja. The police had sneaked up on the drug canoe, which was travelling between Jamaica and Honduras, despite the fact that it was hidden in the dead of the night. The Marine Unit boat turned on its lights and the canoe speeded up but as it turned it collided with one of the police vessels.
Caught red-handed, the men eventually pleaded guilty and were recently sentenced to various terms from 38 to 43 months as they had previous offences in Cayman. All five were also given concurrent sentences for immigration offences.
Category: Crime
The RCIPS helicopter has already saved lives on and off these islands. It's difficult to put a price against a life saved. The money, time and training has already been spent/invested into this operation to make it even more effective and capable of saving more lives in the Cayman Islands.
This particular helicopter does not have a winch, though the EC135 is quite capable of being winch equiped. However, with winch capability comes a very significant increase in the cost of daily flight training required to remain current at such a discipline.
The Cayman Islands government bought a Police helicopter. The EC135 is a tried and tested Police helicopter and as seen in this press release, conducts this role very well. If you sell the Police helicopter and remove that capability from the RCIPS you open up the borders further to the shipment of illicit drugs/guns and fuel further the serious crime issues that Cayman has been suffering. For obvious reasons, I suggest that a great many of the serious crime busts, intelligence gathering operations, island security tasks, etc. are not publicised by the Police, making it more difficult for the public to see its real worth to theseislands.
Interestingly, selling the helicopter will incur very significant cost. There are several similar models that have been for sale for some years that remain unsold today. There are many newer verions of the same aircraft on the second hand market, also struggling to sell, so a substantial write down in value will be required to sell this aircraft.
The data you require to draw an informed opinion is in the public domain. I suggest you wake up Cayman and realise that the benfit you get from the Police helicopter is far greater than the $1.7 million dollars it costs per year to operate. Especially if it is your loved one who's life depends upon it.
Or maybe you have good reason for it to be gone….?
Caymanians do not care what the helicopter saw, and took pictures of last November. She is costing the government too much money, along with its pilot. SHE NEEDS TO GO. That is our decision. Most of what the helicopter has done this year is to watch poor caymanians catching two fish and conch for their dinner. Wasting fuel. Read my lips WE DO NOT WANT THE HELICOPTER.
Said the cayman representive of the Jamaica canoe association.
It is because of ignorance like yours that we have so much drugs, fewer fish and even fewer conch and lobster! Be extra vigilant for boat and helicopter noise the next time you go after a "few conch" in the marine park!!!!
You do not have a decision to make. Mac makes all your decisions for you. You voted him in not us.
You forgot to mention the lives it has saved when boaters get in trouble at sea.
You'll sure want the helicopter if it was you or your family….and it's cheaper than the Christian Heritage Park.
Well done RCIPS marine and air units. This is why we need the boats AND helicopter, they complement each other. There's no one else to do this job – which bit does the Govt not understand.
So now we know why certain people want to get rid of the helicopter.
Is this ploy to persuade the govt to keep the helicopter lol? They should have bought one that could have carried a winch & cradle & more endurance=onboard fuel! This helicopter just have enough fuel for one!