Huge amount of Ganja seized by Jamaican Coast Guard in Hellshire

Kingston, Jamaica: Around 40 knitted bags possessing ganja has been seized in a mangrove in Hellshire on Wednesday afternoon by the police authorities. 

Officers of the Jamaica Defence Force Coast Guard were on operation search when they found the sign of this illicit activity.  

The Acting commanding officer for St Catherine South, Superintendent of Police – Hopeton Nicholson, stated that “We would continue to pursue the persons involved in the illegal trade. We will also target spaces where the drugs are stored. This is to put a dent in the illegal guns-for-drugs trade“. 

This is the second successful seizure of ganja by the coast guard in the last two weeks, though the authorities are seeking to find and detain the individuals who are involved in illicit drug trafficking. 

In the previous week, three men were arrested in Spring Village, where 250 pounds of ganja were seized from a residence by the authorities. 

Meanwhile, the police authorities urged the general public to come forward and tell them if they knew anything about this incident. 

Cannabis in Jamaica – 

Cannabis in Jamaica is illegal, but possession of small amounts was reduced to a petty offence in the year of 2015. Cannabis is locally known as ganja, and internationally cannabis consumption plays a major role in a country’s public image, being tied to cultural touchstones such as Rastafari and reggae music. 

The drug was introduced to the island in the 1850s–1860s by indentured servants imported from India during the British rule of both countries; many of the terms used in cannabis culture in Jamaica are based on Indian terms, including the word ganja. 

Then in the year 1913, the Jamaican government banned the use of ganja under Ganja Law. These laws have been made more stringent gradually with time.  

Although, the use of this drug has been customary in Jamaica for over a century, in the 1960s, cannabis farmers began to take advantage of the growing demand in Europe and North America, leading to increased police enforcement, but also the corruption of the security and political systems by the profits from international trafficking.