Officers pulling out marijuana plants in the field in East Grand Bahama.
By DENISE MAYCOCK
Tribune Freeport Reporter
dmaycock@tribunemedia.net
FREEPORT - More than 160,000 marijuana plants, with an estimated street value of nearly $17 million, were discovered growing in the pine forest in East Grand Bahama.
According to police reports, Drug Enforcement Unit officers, with other law enforcement agents, made the discovery around 4pm on Monday.
While on routine aerial patrols in the eastern area of Grand Bahama, some 27 marijuana plots were detected.
Inspector Terecita Pinder, press liaison officer, reported that the fields were scattered over a two-mile radius of undeveloped land.
She said a total of 167,000 plants, with an estimated street value of $16.8 million, were discovered.
Police also recovered two high-powered weapons, including an AK47 and a Mack 11. Both weapons contained ammunition.
No arrests were made and police are continuing their investigations into the matter.
In other crime news, police have reported that US and Bahamian $100 counterfeit notes are in circulation in Grand Bahama.
Inspector Pinder said police are advising businesses and the members of the general public to be on the look out for the counterfeit notes, especially during the evening hours.
Anyone with information that can assist the police with their investigations into both matters is asked to call 350-3107/8, 911/919 or the nearest police station.
Comments
Thinker 10 years ago
No point in wasting time and tax dollars pursuing arrests. Progress rolling us over with every plant they pick.
PastorTroy 10 years ago
This is a waste of time!! A waste of taxpayers money! When will our leaders stop relying on Tourism only? When will we stop being 'slaves' to these hypocritical laws to please the U.S.A? Colorado and others are raking in the cash from the Marijuana industry, this is my frustration with these old, conformed, crooked politicians running the Bahamas! We need more young people who know how to think OUTSIDE the box. Grand Bahamians are hurting, 20% unemployment, hotels closing, community activist getting arrested, this is nonsense! Our politicians are looking more and more like "Southern Politicians" in the U.S states like Mississippi, Alabama, Kentucky and others. Hotel Grand opening today, Grand closing next year. Nassau is small claustrophobic and had too many people! plus 2 multi BILLION dollar behemoth, when are these politicians going to start 'spreading the wealth' in The Bahamas? How many more young men are we going to arrest and disenfranchise? Where are they going? back into society, even more damage and hopeless than before they were arrested! We are 'shooting ourselves in the foot'. Legalizing, taxing and regulating a controlled Marijuana industry in the Bahamas will be a HUGE boost in tourism dollars and local dollars! Tourism is a very competitive and vulnerable business we saw this with the fake Cuban beating video last year.
PastorTroy 10 years ago
We have been in the Tourism industry too long to still be leading from behind, Farmers on Fertile Islands with acres of unused land like Grand Bahama, Acklins, Andros should be ENCOURAGE by our Government to grow Marijuana, this will certainly encourage many (including myself) to move back to the outer Islands to start businesses and raise our family rather than piling up in Nassau getting shot at and robbed! It will be a while before Southern states and many other 'conservative' countries legalize MJ, legalizing MJ in the Bahamas will create a windfall, the cost of weekend and overnight tickets sales from these states and countries will skyrocket! And I KNOW Bahamasair NEEDs this! Don't mind the Bahamas 'Christian' Council, they're having their own internal problems, not to mention more money in the collection plate everyone happy! Whats the difference? do we have any proof that tithes and offering never came from prostitution? Alcohol? Murder? Robbery? lets not kid ourselves! Alcohol is rampant and has no medicinal purpose regardless of how many 'stitchy' you drink! LETS GET REAL, legalize MJ and put many of these young men to work! It's just amazing how our laws and the residual effects, mimic those in Southern States. I can send my 12 year old daughter to the corner store to buy alcohol, this product kills millions per year around the world, but a 'harmless' plant, which have PROVEN medicinal purpose everyone and their momma will be incarcerated? What is this? economic cleansing? rich getting richer, poor getting poorer and dying young from stress, bullets or otherwise? The rich, (and rightfully so) will find some loophole to pay little or nothing and our middle class is almost nonexistent so rather than taxing the poor (VAT) to pay for our deficit from borrowing all those people's money, who really are just waiting for The Bahamas to mess up like Jamaica, let be PROGRESSIVE (hint, hint our governing party should embrace this). The Borrower is SLAVE to the lender...WE ARE BETTER THAN THIS!!!
CommonSense 10 years ago
So happy to see these comments. The prison is overcrowded because there are so many persons in there for something as ridiculous as WEED. Colorado has made Billions of dollars already and it hasn't even been a full year since they legalized marijuana.
Legalize and tax marijuana and the number houses and there would be no need for VAT.
BahamianAway 10 years ago
A good point Pastor Roy...they need to look at creating an industry for marijuana. It's unfourtunate that the Bahamas relies so heavily on the tourism industry to make revenue for our country. We have so many other untapped resources that while they may not completely sustain our economy they will help to contribute in some way, thus taking the burden solely of tourism.
JohnDoes 10 years ago
Federal law is still not allowing Colorado and other 'state' legal institutions to deposit money into financial institutions despite the rise in revenue. The problem is when governments try to address every situation, their own laws fall prey to other laws that existed before. There are simply some things that cant be controlled, such as marijuana growth and cultivation. How many times have they busted fields in Freeport etc and still every year more fields are busted again, sounds like a big waste of money to me. This will not deter anyone or make them scared. Its a plant and for every one uprooted, another will be back there again same time 4-6 months from now. The excuse that this drug is bad and just like every other drug has been proven time and time again false. Its simply a government trick that everybody eventually found out. Too bad our outdated laws and politicians are too blind raping the Bahamas to see this. The government is simply scared of the USA and they cannot go against them because some fool signed one of their treaties, that gives them exclusive rights to our airspace and responsibility for drug interdiction in both the Bahamas and Latin America. So even if we try to make room for this, America will see this as a threat and violation to our partnerships with them, and they will probably find some way to 'sanction' us just like they unfairly did Russia. America is not the answer to everything and fortunately time is proving this to be true. I just hope in the next 5 years or so, a new breed of government will be around as well as some new and improved viewpoints and laws.
BahamianAway 10 years ago
Good luck John Does...
The only way such a thing would happen is if every person who is currently in political power is removed and replace by someone new and fresh.
It's like putting new blood in an old body. Eventually the new blood will be tainted and soon enough you won't be able to tell new from old. Need to put new with new and get rid of the old.
mdraconisx 10 years ago
i'm guessing they burn all of it right? Ridiculous! They could harvest all of it, package it and sell it on market. Could bring a few million into the country. This is a whole industry that they can get into. This place will crash and burn if we stay stuck on tourism and led by people who like to play holy and righteous under these leaders and "Christian Council" ....
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