The Tribune

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

Tribune Staff Reporter

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

CUSTOMS officials believe sustained enforcement efforts and joint operations with partner agencies has led to a significant decline in illegal drug shipments into Nassau in recent months.

Ralph Munroe, Controller of the Department of Customs, said yesterday that while the agency made several marijuana seizures over the past 12 months in 2025, the number of large-scale interceptions has dropped sharply.

“In the last three to four months, the apprehension of marijuana has significantly declined to the extent that I don’t think we’ve had one single case other than very minuscule amounts coming into Lynden Pindling International Airport by passengers for their own personal consumption,” Mr Munroe said.

He added that Customs has often worked in joint operations with other enforcement agencies to curtail trafficking into New Providence.

“We believe that we have put a damper on that coming into New Providence. We haven’t had anything at the Nassau Freight Terminal in recent times, nothing at Air Cargo. We don’t have any reports of anything coming in at Odyssey Aviation, nor at other fixed-base operations such as Nassau or Nassau Jet Centre, so we believe that we have curtailed that for a while,” Mr Munroe said.

When asked whether traffickers may have found more sophisticated ways to hide contraband, Mr Munroe responded: “We can’t say that. We suspect they might have done that, or the risk is too great, probably finding that we are up for the task and they don’t want to challenge us.”

In the past, authorities have warned of trends involving smuggling through courier companies and other unconventional methods, with instances of drugs, weapons and ammunition intercepted in commercial shipments.