6 arrested in WB drug bust
(CNS): Police have arrested six men and seized an undisclosed quantity of ganja following what was described as a major drug operation in West Bay on Friday evening. The six men currently in custody range in age from 22 to 55 and were rounded up during the bust which involved officers from West Bay Police Station, who were supported by officers from the K9 Unit, the Operation Support Unit and the police helicopter. A spokesperson for the RCIPS said the operation forms part of a series of proactive initiatives being undertaken within the district of West Bay.
Category: Crime
You can look at the thumbs up in the comments and see the country is on the fence. There is a demand for ganja here and if you think it’s just derelicts and miscreants indulging then you are naive and mistaken. What do people (who feel cannabis should be legal) who are normally law abiding citizens, have to do to get reform process in motion. Is it time for a parade? A peaceful protest? Obviously there is a large group of CAYMANIANs that are feeling legally misrepresented.
Huh!! Undisclosed amount?
It's only half an indisclosed amount by now…
The damage which marijuana/ganja has done to the minds of the youth in these islands is heart breaking. Trust me there are alot of hurting mothers today who have lost their child due to him smoking ganja from an early age. Go to HMP where you will find 75% of the caymanian prisoners say that their first drug of choice was ganaj and eventually led to harder drugs suich as cocaine.
The prolonged use of marijuana has proven detrimental to the once healthy mind. This so call weed that is no danger, go and see how many young people who started only because their parents or shall i say baby father did it in front of them; where they are at today.
These are the same ones draining the CI government today with the cost to address the many social issues, the court system, prison, police and everything else that goes along with it, all because someone got them started on ganja; a drug that apparently is not harmful. There are many fathers and mothers today in cayman crying because they now see their sons turn into mental invalids because their child has gone insane due to this drug ganja.
Please do not contribute to the misinformation and propaganda surrounding cannabis. Everyone is entitled to their opinion but you are not stating facts. People should make educated decisions based on the scientific evidence presented, not the blatantly biased and misinformed opinions of some random individual on the Internet. Nothing in this world is harmless. There can be a thin line between medicine and poison but to falsely claim that cannabis is a gateway drug is just propagating lies and drawing attention from the real health risks…alcohol and tobacco.
Doesn’t anybody else find it odd that the US strong arms other countries and imposes this so called drug war while exporting American cigarettes and alcohol to those same countries? Use your brain. Cannabis is not illegal because it is bad for you, it’s illegal because if it wasn’t, pharamaceutical companies and tobacco companies would suffer…ie the us govt would take a hit financially. The FACTS ARE that it is practically impossible to overdose on thc, but I can get liquor poisoning in 30minutes. Cigarettes kill you…in fact in labs thc has been proven to kill cancer cells when injected without damaging any body cells as opposed to expensive and risky chemo. And if you are going to bring up the costs of it why don’t you legalize it tax it and have educated and adept government decide how to redirect the ridiculous profit it would generate.
People have been lied to about this plant for so long that they can’t separate truth from propaganda and it’s sad. I hope that the laws change to reflect the science and general sentiment of educated persons and not archaic and manipulative laws that only serve small interest groups.
didnt read all the comments but newsflash.. marijuana is in the process of being legalized.
to bring the economy into the picture: caymanian smokes weed… cops arrests him (cop paid 40k a year). weed smoker goes to jail for a year (costs 40k). weed smoker comes out of jail… cant get a job.. steals shoots and kills. rinse and repeat. because someone wanted to smoke a lil weed? lol…
weed is illegal because of the cotton warlords. similar warlords to those executing people in mexico.. difference is their weapon of choice was legislation not machetes.
Cotton warlord, DuPont synthetic fibers, and big tobacco. The history is there for anybody that want to know the truth.
West bay is the breeding ground for criminals! Why? Is it because your leader make you this way by giving away free bees & creating laziness?
Caymanian
If people want to smoke weed that isn't anybody business, half the people on this island smokeweed including lawyers and police so just shut up now about it. I swear you all are like a bunch of dogs just looking for something to bark about! And what the hell does Mckeeva have to do with anything? Once again just want something to bark about, so stupid!
Richard Nixon declared war on an unarmed plant in 1971.Since that time hundreds of billions of dollars have been spent,hundreds of thousands of lives have been lost worldwide and millions of lives have been damaged.
The plant is winning.
If the article included how much money it costs for the many helicopter trips and man power to find 1 shipment of marijuana (undisclosed, hmmm) some people may not jump to pat the police department on the back. Considering the constant talks of the budget crisis and the fact that this isn't going to stop marijuana coming into Cayman (it's just not, if you think it will you're fooling yourselves) I'm not sure it's such a victory.If it was cocaine, heroine or something that is likely controlled by a much smaller amount of people and that literally kills lives I would feel differently. Thumbs down for not seeing the big picture!!!
You are so naive if you think this is unrelated to other drugs including cocaine, and the wider issue of gangs. Seriously, I bet the neighbours are happy.
This particular incident isn't related or they would have boasted that they also seized other drugs. If you're saying it's related because the same people also deal in those drugs, sure. It's hard to tell because while you call me naive I can't find where your comment is going. Nothing was mentioned about gangs in my comment. I'm sure the neighbors are happy but for how long… they aren't the only people bringing ganga onto the island… ironically I think that's a pretty naive statement.
Yeah, I agree, legalize marijuana. What a waste of time arresting people for something that grows out of the ground.
Oh yes, just give the rest of the world another reason to attack our reputation and integrity.Where is your conscience & common sense?Ganja, should never be legal especially in such a small nation such as ours of +/- 55,000 people . It should not be here in the first place,but there are people in this country who are so heartless,evil,greedy and have the consciences of serial killers(meaning they don't have a conscience at all) who feel its perfectly fine to gain profit from destroying the life of another person's child.Our country's reputation is tarnished enough with money laundering issues,tax issues,drugs,guns,gangs,youth issues and the biggest is the present Government, we don't need any more issues.
We have enough,jobless,rugged,homeless looking,crazy,skinny,malnourished,leeches to their hardworking family members and society,purple lipped,red eyed zombies walking around Cayman,especially in West Bay. Why on earth should a harmful substance known,to reduce memory, deteriorate your lungs and overall health,cause malnourishment,decrease reproductiveness, cognitive thinking,decrease OVERALL Intelligence & common sense and encourage the user to move on to more dangerous drugs,and will most likely fall into your child or loved ones hand whose life you'd pray never be destroyed, be encouraged to become common place as if cigarettes aren't a disgusting enough habit. Smoking that ,ganja or any other drug is not a victimless activity.It affects everyone that is near and damages the health of innocent people who had no intention of partaking in those activities and actually have plans to have a long,healthy, intelligent life.
So please stop being ignorant. Those so called "recreational drugs" aren't fun and games as you have been fooled to think. And the police will not have one lessthing to worry about, in a small country like this their troubles are going to multiply. There will be more people under the influence of narcotics than sober people to keep eachother safe.
You consistenly miss the point that many house-hold items and over the counter drugs and processed foods will do the same. It just takes more time for the full effectt -maybe not until you are in your 40's or 50's where you may now need the trust of pharmacueticals drugs to allay your seemingly innocent habits over they years. Scaremongering and focuing only on the demonization of marijuanna(Google "Reefer Madness") is a pathetic attempt to say that not smoking marijuanna is the cure for all societies problems. Its the easy way out. Its easier to set up a few drug busts to put a false-hope in the community that crime will go down when socio-economic inequalities still persist. Legalizing marijuanna would send a signal to the workd that Cayman is 3 steps ahead of where most modern societies are already headed.
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If that is so, why is Holland now considering
rescinding their drug laws.
Several countries are taking steps to revise thier laws at different rates, but they are all converging toward some form of legalization.
Time to open your eyes to whats going on around the world:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legality_of_cannabis
Amen
Due to increasing pressure from right wing groups in the EU, not because of internal issues. In Laymans terms, ppl go to holland and try to bring it back to their home countries where laws may not be as tolerant or the necessary infrastructure to deal with usage and or abuse does not exist. Coincidentally the same complainants ie spain and England are currently in the process of scheduling cannabis to more tolerant repercussions or decriminalization. Don’t confuse politics with the truth.
"cause malnourishment"?
Complete polar opposite with ganja I'm afraid, ever heard of the munchies?
You should open your eyes and do some research yourself instead of listening to propaganda of government and the police, as people are lied to and misinformed about marijuana's positive effects since the "War on Drugs" was started which has done more harm than good. Marijuana is a Billion Dollar Industry that can cause a spike in economic growth with a increase in tourism and creating 100's of jobs.
– For thousands of years marijuana has been used as a medicine.
– Alcohol and cigarettes kills millions of people a year; Marijuana kills none.
– If legalized marijuana would become the drug of choice over cigarettes and alcohol, which will lower the death rate of alcohol related accidents and cigarette smokers.(Both are Legal.)
Here are some Pro's and Con's of Legalizing Marijuana (Based on US statistics.)
Pros
-The drug generally isn't more harmful than alcohol or tobacco if used in moderation. For those concerned about the health effects due to smoking marijuana, remember, smoking is not the only way to enjoy marijuana benefits, you can also eat it or even vaporize it.
-Limiting the use of the drug intrudes on personal freedom.
-Legalization would mean a lower price; thus, related crimes (like theft) would be reduced.
-Crime and violence in the US has increased due to the illegal selling and buying of marijuana. Legalizing it would end the need for indulging in criminal behavior.
-Drug related disputes will come to an end and drug mafias would lose their significance.
-Police and court resources would be freed up for more serious crimes.
-Drug dealers (including some terrorists) would lose most or all of their business.
-Drug busts often trap young people in a flawed system that turns them into lifelong criminals.
-The FDA or others could regulate the quality and safety of drugs.
-Aside from recreational drug use, Marijuana is one of the most popular agricultural products in the US and Cannabis has several industrial and commercial uses, as over 25,000 products can be made from the crop, such as lotion, shampoo, soap, herbal drinks, paper and rope. According to an estimate by Californian authorities, annual marijuana sales in the state could be worth 14 billion dollars, and new tax revenues from legalizing marijuana could well exceed 1 billion dollars, just in California. Imagine what the revenue will be if it is legalized in the whole of US!
-Marijuana has medical benefits in relation to diseases like cancer, AIDS, and glaucoma. It is especially helpful in the treatment of patients undergoing chemotherapy. Hats off to states like California that have initiated the move to legalize the drug, at least for medicinal purposes.
-Pharmaceuticals would lose money causing them to release the good cures into the market for money.
Cons
-Many Americans think that the use of drugs is morally wrong, because religious codes prohibit the use of intoxicating substances. Therefore, legalizing marijuana would be like legalizing something considered to be immoral.
-Marijuana is believed to be a stepping-stone drug that can eventually lead to addiction to heroin, cocaine, and other harder drugs.
-Passive smoking is harmful, and secondhand smoke from the use of marijuana increases the chances of others suffering the damage by inhaling the smoke.
-Some believe that it may increase crime as people involved in illegal trade of the drug are also involved in other crimes. They consider that society is saferwith marijuana offenders incarcerated.
Conclusion
Merely on the pretext that intake of marijuana is morally wrong, the government can't intrude into the freedom of people. Marijuana, like alcohol, cigarettes, and sex, is one of life's little pleasures for some people, something that makes life worth living. People may get pleasure from coffee, donuts and pizzas, but even they can be harmful if not taken in moderate quantities. All this does not mean that we should give up all these things (coffee, pizza, etc.,) for the rest of our lives!
The pros simply outweigh the cons. A faction of the people who oppose legalizing marijuana will sooner than later understand the benefits it has in store for them and society. Besides, one can't ignore the enormous tax revenues it would bring.
Well, the Netherlands proceeded on your theory and have now regretted so that they are changing their drug laws to classify high-potency marijuana alongside hard drugs such as cocaine and ecstasy. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/07/netherlands-marijuana-law_n_1000676.html
How about, all of you who doubt what I said meet up with me one day and I will take you all around and show you a prime example of what I'm talking about and what weed does and will do to our families,friends & our society, like the homes of my aunts,uncles,cousins in West Bay and elsewhere , past neighbors, class mates and people I know who were once healthy,intelligent,productive members of society,had jobs and everything and nowwwww, are walking Zombies, unproductive,unhealthy, hardly eats unless they have "munchies",tell you they'd like to borrow a couple dollars to buy some food, and to this day are still waiting to see them eat,but instead you find them smoking and drinking all the time and are never far from the bars liquor stores or people they can get it from.The people that sell it and give look healthier than them.
Want more,?They drank the same laced Kool-Aid those pro-marajuana groups fed you and were the same ones who argued the same bullsh*t argument you all are trying to throw my way and say, "there are more health benefits to weed than bad effects,as those governments say",besides God put the plant there and we are just reeping the benefits." "Don't listen to those Governments that makes it illegal,they just can't patent it so they do what you to get it.""Weed is healthier than cigarettes" "They even tried to joke with me and play Kat Williams "Weed is just a plant,it just grows like that and there are some effects,hungry,happy,sleepy!!" Ask them how happy they are today.They said we only do it occasionally or once in a while but you don't want to do it too much cus you know it could be addictive. Then they would laugh and say, the government should make it legal yeh,not like it bad for ya,I smoke it all the time and nothing happened to me. It didn't take long for them to start sampling other things when they couldn't get high enough and now they no longer can function properly. Everytime they see me now, they tell me I'm doing so good for myself, to make sure to stay away from that stuff,cus they thought nothing bad could happen from smoking it,but now they can't stop. My aunt who had a steady job for ten years,doesn't anymore,she quit after she starting feeling the "happy" effects of weed during her occasional sessions and she's signed up for the odd jobs the gov't gives. My cousins are in and out of jail,riding around on bicycles all day, can't get jobs because they can't function properly,mentally anymore,from that safe healthy marajuana they kept smoking.
Examples of people, (Ellimae the woman with green eyes who walks town and westbay with pigtail and multi colored socks asking for money.my family told me she used to be normal and functioning and apparently intelligent,she turned to drugs and now you see what she does for a living),(Mr.Rudy the old man who usually walks or ride around town with a six pack of liquor,once was excellent at math and apparently worked for CUC many many years ago,started drugs then alcohol and now you see what he does for a living),(Kirky, the heavily bearded man walking along SMB,never without a beer and loves talking to the air and trees ,now made some-what famous by Luigi , was apparently a police officer in the past,started drugs and drinking and now you see what he's doing for a living.)Perfect examples that walk our streets.
But you know what, keep your opinion if you'd like,go on believing everything those groups tell you on the internet or on tv,go on thinking that if or once its legal every thing will be alright.You're entitled to your belief and so am I, I live around the consequences of those beliefs,but once you peel your face away from the tv and computer screens,take a stroll around and I'm sure you'll be able to tell who drank the same kool-aid as you.
The human experience is complex and the general cause of unfortunate histories can’t be whittled down to using drugs. Unfortunately, I believe your stories are from people who may have used drugs with already pre-existing conditions or had a poor education and upbringing not related to drugs initially:
1) Bad parenting: Parents who did not teach self-control, moderation, or how to self-educate. If you haven’t any self-control, drugs would overwhelm other areas and interests of your life, but it didn’t initially cause it.
2) Mental Illness/Depression/Stress: It goes undiagnosed on the Island and religious opportunists want to fill their aisles with the allure of casting out demons or the promise that while your current situation is poverty stricken you can expetc streets of gold when you die. And your common garden variety unsympathetic psychopath loves to prey on the mentally ill's weaknesses also, jokingly defining such people in caricature… using terms like “zombie”. In this case drugs would compound their pre-existing condition, but it didn’t initially cause it.
3) Poor education: If someone can only read(or think) at a 5th grade level or if someone thinks that mimicking the style of King-James Middle English is considered a critical thinking skill, you can’t expect that person to make critical decision about what they consume. In this case drugs would compound their mental midget status, but it didn’t initially cause it.
There are probably several other situations where marijuana would not be a benefit. But you could just as well say the same for just about anything like alcohol, smoking, sex, prescription drugs, processed foods, sugar, organized religion. So the real question becomes why are you so obsessed with promoting the myth that drugs/marijuana is at the root of the problem of an instable society. By doing so, you are actually ignoring the real problems of Poor Education, Bad Parenting, and Mental Illness, and so these problems never get addressed for serious funding. Instead the money goes to things like a drug bust or re-pavement to a church parking lot.
I know of several professionals who are in good mental health, have had a good education, and have had good parenting…and they smoke marijuana. Marijuana won’t cause their lifestyle to degenerate because their life is built upon good habits and knowledge, not fear or propaganda.
Thank you for this. I appreciate your effort.
By the way, I know that everyone who decides to use may not deteriorate as fast as others have,but can you guarantee 100% that they won't? And when they do,do you have the solution to bring them back? Will you be willing to take them in and rehabilitate them yourself so they can still have a good life "worth living"? You want the government to legalize it so that you can potentially harm yourself in the long run,but I hope you don't expect the government to do all the hard work to pick up all the pieces. It's not the government's job to take care of you.So who's gonna take that on? Just asking.
Can you say the same for people who choose to drink in excess, are obese, or choose to not extend thieir reading skills beyond that of the bible? You can potentially harm yourself or others with any of these by causing drunk driving accidents or acts of violence, overburdening the health system, and spreading hate . I want government to inform about all of these, and let people choose for themselves. You want to have a free ride with all of these and then demonize marijuanna to act as if it is more harmful than your vices.
Thank you for articulating the facts.
Lots of things grow out of the ground: coca plant from which cocaine is made; poppy from which opium and heroin are made.
And prior to processing and addition of volatile chemicals they are relatively harmless. You’re compare apples to AKs here.
Ganja should be legal. Just sayin.
Yes, let's get crime stats by district. They will most likely show that WB has less serious/violent crime than other districts. Please be sure that all bank robberies, gas ststion robberies, convenience store robberies, home ambushes/invasions, etc. are included.
The RCIPS is getting to where we want them to be with their results this year, this time last year we were facing a dark ten days. Do not cut them, the Country and our tourism product needs them to stay on top of the game.
All of Cayman has crime and drug dealers not just west bay. I’m a proud educated West Bayer and Caymanian and never sold, consumed drugs or been arrested. So please don’t make this a district or political thing, this is one reason that Cayman is falling in the cracks because ignorance.Well done to RCIPS and to Kurt Walton and his team keep up the good work and seeking the public’s support.
I am a successful west bayer that does not deal in drugs either. What i am disappointed in is the pervasive use and dealing of drugs in west bay and the number of people who are held in a death grip by drugs and are walking the streets like zombies, yet the powers that be in west bay do not seem to interested in a serious way to highlight and deal with the problem.
If we make Postal Ballots available to people in Northward then there might be some impetus to move them to prison.
THE POWERS THAT BE IN WEST bAY SEEM TO WANT TO GET RID OF THE HELICOPTER….talk about serving your constituents..!
I'm confused, so we need the helicopter to stop drugs, or do we need the fear of drugs to continue the use of a helicopter? Amazing how public opinion can be manipulated.
Kudos and please keep up the pressure on these people.and while you are at it KEEP THE HELICOPTER!!!!
Wonderful, they should all reward themselves with alchohol(a drug), and then maybe a big fat steak to corrode their arteries so they can take some medications(more drugs). And tomorrow is a new day to start out with a caffiene stimulated outlook until around 2pm where you hit a wall. I wonder if people were educated about the effects of anything you put in your body, would this really be considered a success. This is not aimed at officers that execute the plans, but instead people who legislate and promote archaic beliefs of nutrition and health.
HUH? I wonder if this person above is commenting on another post by mistake…..
I think its about the unfair attention and waste of resources(Helicopter Drug Busts) in criminalizing marijuanna as a "drug" when people are already consuming the equivalent of "drugs" in many other forms that are accepted by society. An obvious double standard that can ruin peoples livesand and yields a fake sense of reward that we are actually accomplishing anything when these busts go down. Legalize it, keep it away from kids at all costs(by regulating it), but it should be an upto an adult to choose what they consume.
Keep it away from kids? Won't happen
As you can see, this is going to go over so many heads lol. Accurate satire nonetheless
@**************%%%%%%%%%%%
Now you know 1 of the reasons why they do not want the helicopter.
And the Premier wants to sell the helicopter… SMH
Well done! Is it just me or a lot more seems to be happening since Mr Walton took over from Mr Jones?
Its because he took over, hes another smart bracca!!
West Bay leads the nation . . . .
in the number of violent crimes and general contempt for law and order.
One can only wonder if this is merely a reflection of the attitude currently being displayed by its most prominent resident (sorry, "honourable" resident).
That would be Eternally Honorable!
Its the only "trickle down effect" we get on this island.
Honourable, WHO!!!!
It would be interesting to know crime stats by district.
This is why McKeeva's supporters are so eager to get rid of the chopper.
Well done. Keep it up RCIP.