PUBLIC URGED TO HELP FIGHT DRUG PROBLEM

The Customs & Excise Department has called on "all elements of the
Barbadian society" to unite in the fight against illegal drugs.

The appeal was part of the department's message to mark International
Customs Day, celebrated last Saturday.

"It has been recognised that to fight the scourge cooperation at all
levels of society is necessary," the department said.

"The involvement of national organisations, as well as cooperation at
the regional, hemispheric and global levels, is necessary to fight
what can only be described as a plague on modern society."

The department said "the zero tolerance" for drug offenders must
continue, "given the very detrimental nature of this scourge".

The department underscored the importance of "training and
retraining" officers to keep abreast of current and evolving trends,
if it is to remain "on the cutting edge in this fight".

Last year the department made 45 seizures that netted 329 kilogrammes
of marijuana and eight seizures of cocaine, with a total weight of 15
kilogrammes.

The previous year there were 46 seizures of marijuana (424
kilogrammes) and eight of cocaine (ten kilogrammes). (TY)