ABUJA: THE UK and Jamaica have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) aimed at strengthening cooperation between the two countries in the fight against the illicit drug trade.
The three-year MOU will allow for the sharing of information between both countries as well as to allow officers from the UK Border Force, who are based in Jamaica, to work more closely with law enforcement agencies, including the police and the Customs department.
According to Ministry of National Security, 1,200 people have been arrested at Jamaica’s ports of entry between 2010 and 2014.
The ministry says of that number 1,136 were arrested at the two international airports for drug possession.
Speaking at the signing of the MOU, National Security Minister Peter Bunting said despite the successes of the Jamaican police in seizing large quantities of drugs while arresting and extraditing major drug kingpins, trafficking through the nation’s borders remains a challenge for law enforcement authorities.
