Teamwork Produces Successful Results in the Eastern

UNCLAS BRIDGETOWN 000068

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
STATE FOR WHA/CAR AND INL
TRINIDAD PLEASE PASS TO DEA
PARAMARIBO PLEASE PASS TO DEA
KINGSTON PLEASE PASS TO DEA
SANTO DOMINGO PLEASE PASS TO DEA
CARACAS PLEASE PASS TO DEA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SNAR KCRM ECON PGOV XL
SUBJECT: Teamwork Produces Successful Results in the Eastern
Caribbean: Nov-Dec 2009 NAS Update

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SUMMARY

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1. (SBU) The Drug Enforcement Administration, the Military Liaison
Office, and the Narcotics Affairs Section are working with local
and regional authorities to deter drug trafficking. Many
operations have been successful; however, without consistent,
reliable maritime assets to assist the Regional Security System Air
Wing, drug seizures are a fraction of what they could be.




2. (SBU) The Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement
Affairs (INL) Management Assessment Team visited NAS Bridgetown to
conduct a Management Assessment Visit. One of their key
recommendations, which reinforces a recent OIG recommendation, is
to support a full-time Narcotics Affairs Officer position in
Bridgetown. The Team concluded that increased drug trafficking
through the region and the need for greater coordination among the
island nations and the security donor community to address the
threat, made a full-time NAS position essential to the achievement
of U.S. counter-narcotics, and counter-crime goals. End Summary.



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DEA BARBADOS SUCCEESS STORY

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3. (SBU) Drug Enforcement Administration authorities in Barbados
played a critical role in the location, identification and arrest
of a U.S. fugitive identified as Irvine ROBINSON. The fugitive has
been wanted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) since 2007
for Importation of Cocaine, Conspiracy to Import Cocaine and
Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine pursuant to an arrest
warrant issuing out of the Southern District of Florida. DEA
Bridgetown notified ICE and US Marshals that ROBINSON was traveling
to Barbados during the week of 12/20/08-12/28/08. DEA BARBADOS
identified the flight on which ROBINSON departed Barbados and
provided photographs of ROBINSON boarding that flight as well as
his seat number and description to authorities in St Maarten where
ROBINSON was arrested upon arrival of the flight on 12/28/08. DEA
Barbados coordinated this operation with the Barbados Drug Squad,
US Marshals Service, ICE, DEA Curacao and St Maarten authorities.




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OPERATION FLYING FISH III 12/02-12/13

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4. (SBU) DEA Bridgetown and the Military Liaison Office (MLO) were
instrumental in planning, establishing and coordinating Operation
Flying Fish III, a combined aerial-maritime operation between the
Regional Security System (RSS) Air Wing, the US Coast Guard and
JIATF-S to detect, monitor and interdict vessels suspected of
illicit trafficking within RSS waters. The USCGC SHAMAL was
deployed to the region for approximately ten days. Ship riders from
St. Lucia and Dominica were on board to assist with the mission.
JIATF-S also deployed an intelligence analyst from their Tactical
Analysis Team (TAT) and Intelligence Officer from the JIATFS Watch
Floor to the Embassy to support and assist DEA with intelligence
flow during the operation. A DEA special agent was the primary
point of contact for the operation and coordinated the flow of


strategic intelligence to air/interdiction assets as well as local
counterparts.




5. (SBU) During the operation, the USCGC SHAMAL was plagued by
mechanical and communications problems, however one Venezuelan
go-fast was intercepted after pursuit disrupting a cocaine delivery
to St Lucia and intelligence indicates that several planned
shipments by traffickers were postponed or delayed due to the
presence of the USCGC SHAMAL. Further details of interdiction
actions for the operations follow below.




6. (SBU) The following is a snapshot of other recent narcotic
enforcement/seizures in the region:



ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA



On December 2, 2009, the Royal Police Force of Antigua and Barbuda
arrested and charged a senior Customs officer for (1) possession of
48.5 pounds of cannabis, (2) possession of 48.5 pounds of cannabis
with intent to transfer, (3) possession of 48.5 pounds of cannabis
with intent to supply, and (4) Drug Trafficking. The suspect was
arrested at the VC Bird International Airport. The marijuana was
inside a suitcase that had arrived on a LIAT flight from St.
Vincent.



BARBADOS



On 12/10/09, DEA Bridgetown participated in planning for a maritime
interdiction with the RSS/Air wing and Barbados Police Force. This
action resulted in the seizure of 11 kilograms of cocaine, 67
kilograms of marijuana and the arrest of three individuals in
Barbados who participated in the at sea pick-up of the shipment
from a Trinidadian vessel.



On 12/14/09, authorities received intelligence regarding a
suspected delivery of an unknown quantity of drugs from St. Vincent
to the north shore of Barbados. Pursuant to the information,
personnel from the Barbados Drug Squad responded to the suspected
off-load location on the north shore of Barbados where they were
fired upon by the shore party waiting to receive the drug shipment.
After an exchange of gunfire, one of the suspected traffickers was
killed; the remaining members of the shore party escaped. As a
result of the gunfire, the target vessel from St Vincent departed
the intended landing zone at a high rate of speed prior to
delivery. The RSS/Air Wing attempted to track the vessel back to
St. Vincent; however the St. Vincent Marine Police had no vessels
available to attempt to interdict the vessel, and RSS aircraft was
forced to return to base after running low on fuel. [Note: This
event underscores the necessity of a robust, complementary RSS
Maritime Unit. End note.]



DOMINICA



On 12/16/09, the RSS/Air Wing alerted the St. Lucia Marine Police
to a suspect go-fast boat approximately 28 nautical miles southwest
of St Lucia heading northbound towards Dominica. The St. Lucia
marine police responded and a marine pursuit ensued during which
the go-fast boat, subsequently identified as the Dominica
registered cigarette boat "BLUE WHALE", engaged in evasive
maneuvers and eventually jettisoned its illicit cargo before being


intercepted approximately 30 nautical miles west of Martinique.
St. Lucian authorities successfully recovered 26 bales of
marijuana, with a combined weight of approximately 448 lbs, and
arrested the three persons on board, identified as Lindell DAWAY,
Lawrence LOCKHART and Couriol ALICK. All three of the crew members
are known to be maritime traffickers employed by Dominica-based
drug trafficking organizations. The vessel was impounded at the
Marine Base in Castries (St. Lucia) and the three crew members were
charged for the offence of Possession of Marijuana with Intent to
Supply.



On 12/16/09, authorities received information regarding a shipment
of cocaine from Venezuela that would occur via vessel to vessel
transfer approximately 20 miles off the west coast of Dominica.
Authorities planned an interdiction operation. The RSS/Air Wing
detected the suspected Venezuelan pirogue (mother vessel) and the
suspected Dominica go-fast (daughter vessel) in the same vicinity
during late night/early morning hours of 12/16/09-12/17/09.
Although in the same vicinity, the vessels appeared to have
difficulty locating each other, and the Venezuelan pirogue
eventually departed the area towards Venezuela. As the local
go-fast boat returned to Dominica, Dominican police responded and
at approximately 5:30am (12/17/09) stopped a rental vehicle
occupied by Lee ANTHONY and Charles CUTHBERT that was leaving the
area. Pursuant to the traffic stop, authorities seized
approximately $68,776 USD believed to be intended for the
Venezuelans at the time the cocaine was to be transferred. ANTHONY
and CUTHBERT were charged pursuant to local money laundering
statutes and an investigation is ongoing.



ST. LUCIA



On 12/09/09 authorities received intelligence regarding a planned
cocaine delivery from Venezuela to St. Lucia. As a result, a
coordinated interdiction operation involving the RSS/Air Wing, the
Barbados Military Liaison Office (MLO) and the USCGC SHAMAL
pursuant to OPERATION FLYING FISH was planned. Pursuant to the
operation, the RSS Air Wing was able to locate a suspected
Venezuelan go-fast boat and maintain covert aerial surveillance as
the suspected vessel (Venezuelan pirogue modified with 5 outboard
engines and numerous fuel barrels on deck) proceeded northbound
towards St. Lucia. The suspect vessel stopped within territorial
waters of St. Lucia in the early morning hours of 12/10/09 and was
apparently awaiting rendezvous with a go-fast from St. Lucia for
vessel to vessel transfer of the contraband. The USCGC SHAMAL
deployed its small boat interceptor and attempted to interdict the
Venezuela go-fast boat. A marine pursuit ensued that lasted in
excess of an hour. During the pursuit, at least two bales of
suspected contraband (weighted) were observed being jettisoned. The
contraband sunk immediately. The Venezuelan go-fast boat was
subsequently intercepted and the eight persons on board (none with
identification) claimed Venezuelan nationality. They were
subsequently released with the vessel following an unsuccessful
search for contraband.



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OUTREACH / REGIONAL ACTIVITIES

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7. (SBU) From November 02-06, 2009, Force Protection Detachment
(FPD) Barbados in conjunction with the Regional Security System
held a Subject Matter Exchange Seminar on Arms, Narcotics and Human
Trafficking in St. Kitts. The seminar was attended by 41 senior
and mid level Law Enforcement Officials from the Eastern Caribbean
region and the United States of America.



8. (SBU) Opening remarks were given by the St Kitts and Nevis
Prime Minister, the Honorable Dr. Denzil Douglas, who praised the
FPD trafficking seminar as "a strong indicator of US support within
the region". FPD Barbados Resident Agent in Charge provided an
overview of the seminar as well as a briefing on the mission of FPD
Barbados. The Honorable Hugh Rawlins, Chief Justice of the Eastern
Caribbean Supreme Court attended the seminar and praised NCIS
efforts to address these important trafficking issues facing both
the Caribbean and the United States of America. He stated that
"single islands cannot successfully fight these issues alone."




9. (SBU) Presentations were made by the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, the Department of State, the Regional Security
System, the St. Kitts Director of Public Prosecutions, the St.
Kitts Financial Investigations Unit and Chief Medical Officer, etc.
NCISHQ Analyst Luci Jackson-Taylor also provided a well received
briefing on Human Trafficking indicators and assisted with the
round table discussions.




10. (SBU) The seminar provided an opportunity for each attending
country's participants to discuss arms, narcotics and human
trafficking throughout the Eastern Caribbean. Each delegation
presented on the specific trafficking issues affecting their
individual countries. MLO Barbados advises that, due to the
success of the seminar, U.S. Southern Command make this an annual
event.



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BRIDGETOWN GROUP MEETING

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11. (SBU) The Bridgetown Group, consisting of representatives from
the British High Commission, the British Serious Organized Crime
Agency (SOCA),the Canadian High Commission, the Royal Canadian
Mounted Police, the European Union, the Organization of American
States (OAS),the United Nations, the French Police Attach????, the
U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, and NAS-Bridgetown, met at Embassy
Bridgetown on November 18, 2009 for the second time in as many
months to discuss streamlining and better coordination of
allocating resources.




12. (SBU) The NAS representative distributed a resource matrix
which is a compilation of activities from each of the international
organizations of the group. It became clear that there is
redundancy in the areas of training and demand reduction programs.
The NAS representative is tasked to organize all the activities by
subject area so it will become more apparent where inefficiency and
redundancy exists. An update on the Caribbean Basin Security
Initiative was provided however few details were ready for
dissemination. The next meeting is scheduled for January 20, 2010




13. (SBU) NAS Bridgetown supported the attendance of three Eastern
Caribbean representatives to the 46th Annual CICAD Conference Nov
18-20, 2009. Lt. Col. Edward Croft from Antigua, Leandra Cuffy
from Dominica, and Dave Alexander from Grenada each received
funding in the form of air fare and hotel accommodations to attend
this event. They cited the Drug Court, sessions on new research in
treatment for drugs, and the usual networking as highlights of the
conference. The U.S. was selected as Chair of CICAD for the next
term.


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INL MANAGEMENT ASSESSMENT VISIT

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14. (SBU) On November 18-20 an INL management team led by CDR Terry
Johns visited the Embassy to review NAS operations, both financial
and project related. The team met with section chiefs of the
POL/ECON, MGT, the DEA, MLO, IRS and LEGATT, before an exit meeting
with the Charg????. CDR Johns participated in a live RSS
interdiction
flight in Caribbean waters that, despite lacking operable radar or
maritime asset support, was able to help divert a drug-laden vessel
back to Venezuela. Due to lack of resources, there were no
maritime assets in the water to assist in an interdiction effort.
CDR Johns also met with the Bridgetown Group.



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COMMENT

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15. (SBU) Momentum is building within the Bridgetown Group to
develop a robust integrated strategy to assist the region in the
areas of financial investigation training, polygraph and integrity
testing, drug prevention, and equipment provision. The group
agreed to create individual task forces, or committees, to analyze
how their organizations can more efficiently address challenges
facing the region through closer coordination. Other country
donors are eager to support CBSI efforts and seek regular
information about planned USG activities to prevent overlap and
identify potential areas for joint activities. The Embassy,
through the Bridgetown Group mechanism, will continue to provide
such information as it has from the ground; a parallel mechanism in
Washington would probably be welcome.




16. (SBU) The interdiction actions during this reporting period
highlight two continuing trends: on the positive side, local law
enforcement has shown a steadily increasing commitment to undertake
aggressive interdiction activity both independently and with
assistance from the USG and other actors. On the negative side,
recent activities have put into stark relief the urgent need for
additional resources which could dramatically impact interdiction
successes - resources that CBSI could usefully provide.
HARDT