JAMAICAN ERS TAXED BY DRUG SMUGGLERS

KINGSTON - Jamaica's war on drugs is being fought daily in the bustling
emergency room of its biggest public hospital, where doctors are
overwhelmed by increasing numbers of drug smugglers.

Most are women in their early 20s who swallow cocaine-filled condoms before
boarding international flights, said physician Evadne Martin- Clarke, who
runs the Kingston Public Hospital's emergency room.

"The past week we have got about 75 suspected cases and, of those, one
third have been confirmed" to be carrying cocaine, she said. "We already
have a lot of trauma [cases] coming in, so it's putting quite a strain on
all the departments."

Drug smugglers often are caught boarding flights to Britain that depart
late at night, and they arrive at the emergency room's busiest time, said
Dr. Richard Harrison. "We're low-staffed then and the problems that usually
come in at that time of night are usually quite critical. Usually, that's
when you look at the accidents and gunshot wounds."

Harrison said 12 suspects arrived during one recent eight-hour shift, and
eight during the next.

Britain is an attractive destination for Jamaican smugglers because
citizens of this former British colony can travel there without visas.
Harrison said the smugglers swallow a few condoms, or more than 100.

Since early April, the emergency room has seen an increase of 50 to 75
percent in drug smugglers, who are guarded by police at the hospital, he said.

The increase came after National Security Minister Peter Phillips announced
a crackdown on drug traffickers, which he blames for Jamaica's soaring crime.

At the same time, police began a more sophisticated type of profiling. "In
one day alone, police selected 50 persons ... and 25 of them were
positive," said Donovan Nelson, a spokesman for the Ministry of National
Security.

This island of 2.6 million is considered one of the major drug
transshipment points in the Caribbean, as is Haiti. Phillips also announced
that Jamaican police would be posted in British airports to watch for
smugglers.

His initiative came after British officials reportedly suggested requiring
visas for Jamaicans in a bid to stem the flow of drugs.

The number of foreign women in British jails has increased 37 percent in
the past year, and half are Jamaicans, Home Office Minister Beverley Hughes
recently told lawmakers in London.

At the emergency room in Kingston, the smugglers are given X-rays, and
laxatives when drugs are detected. The smugglers take up limited beds and
resources during the several days it can take them to expel the condoms.

Occasionally, smugglers die when condoms leak. "We have had a few deaths,
not very many," said Martin-Clarke.

Nelson said smugglers get paid $1,700 to $4,255. Some never get paid,
Nelson said: "When they carry drugs to the other end, they are harassed and
threatened."