(CNS): While the bulk of illegal drugs being smuggled into the Cayman Islands is still ganja, the police are seeing an increase in different types of illicit drugs on the local streets, including cocaine, opioids and illegal pharmaceuticals, the RCIPS management has said. The police are particularly concerned about the emergence of fentanyl, the potent synthetic opioid fuelling an overdose crisis in the United States.

Speaking at a press conference on Friday about the 2022 crime statistics, senior members of the RCIPS revealed that last year they had a visit from representatives of the US Drug Enforcement Agency to help with training and share their experiences dealing with drug trafficking and drug-fuelled crime.

Cocaine is being consumed by people across all walks of life and is no longer a white-collar drug. Police Commissioner Derek Byrne said that cocaine use is causing some of the acquisitive crime that is taking place, such as car thefts and burglary, which is being committed by a small number of prolific offenders who are users.

Many of these people are suffering from substance abuse problems as well as mental health or financial difficulties, including homelessness, which police said impacts their behaviour.

While specific drug crime numbers fell slightly overall last year, the number of supply offences for cocaine and ganja increased. Police said they conducted a number of protracted, intelligence-led, complex investigations in 2022 and seized CI$4 million worth of illegal drugs during the year. Around $34,000 in cash, believed to be money gained from dealing, was also seized.

Approximately 2,915lbs of ganja with a conservative estimated street value of just over
CI$2.9 million was seized, and around 56kgs of cocaine was recovered during operations or recovered after being washed up on beaches across all three islands.

The number of seizures at sea declined, which Byrne believes may be due to traffickers’ increased awareness of the Cayman Islands Coast Guard’s ability to track the drug canoes in local waters, which increases their risk.

During 2022 the RCIPS continued to work on various proactive investigations in collaboration with regional partners, which were carried out to prevent drugs from reaching the Cayman Islands from elsewhere.

The type of drug coming into Cayman is beginning to diversify from what was once almost all ganja with a small amount of cocaine and now includes such drugs as ecstasy and prescription pharmaceuticals.

Opioids are giving the police cause for concern, especially the arrival of fentanyl and the possibility of people overdosing here. The Health Service Authority is now helping police to secure the antidote, Naloxone, a life-saving medication that can reverse an overdose from opioids.

Police noted that while alcohol fuels a notable percentage of violent crime, only 1% of reported cases of violence involved people using drugs. Drug possessions unrelated to importation are usually detected as a result of searches related to other crimes or intelligence-led busts.

See the 2022 crime statistics in the CNS Library.