JAMAICAN POLICE TO HELP CUSTOMS IN DRUG CLAMPDOWN

Jamaican detectives are to be posted at British airports from the summer as
part of a new initiative to stem the flow of drugs flowing from the
Caribbean island into the UK.

Recent estimates suggest that at least one in 10 passengers on flights from
Jamaica to London are carrying cocaine concealed inside their bodies and
last December 41 drug mules were arrested after customs officials targeted
two flights. The Jamaican officers will target holidaymakers flying out of
the country.

One Customs officer told The Observer : 'Flights from England often contain
couriers carrying large quantities of money. These are either the proceeds
of drug sales, which are being laundered in Jamaica or payments for drugs
which are then smuggled back to England.'

In one recent case, a specially trained sniffer dog detected money in the
luggage of two women flying out of Heathrow to Jamaica. They insisted they
had no money other than that in their purses. When one suitcase was opened,
UKP680,000 was found hidden under towels.

The cooperation between the two countries was announced last week by
Jamaica's National Security Minister, Peter Phillips. Representatives of
Scotland Yard, HM Customs and the intelligence services are currently in
Jamaica finalising the details.

The cost of the initiative will be met by a UKP10 million aid package from
Britain aimed at modernising Jamaica's police force. At present the
constabulary is so short of funds that many offi cers are forced to use
their own cars to ferry suspects to and from court.

The money will pay for training and restructuring the police force as well
as establishing a modern search centre. Seven hundred new police recruits
will join the force in the next six months, bringing it up to full strength
for the first time in decades. The influx of new technology will include
IonScan detectors - hand-held wands which can tell if an airline passenger
has swallowed cocaine. The devices can also be used to detect explosives.

Phillips suggested the scheme to demonstrate to Prime Minister Tony Blair
that Jamaica was committed to stopping the drug trade. It is an alternative
to proposals to introduce visas for Jamaican travellers to Britain, which
many believed would be unworkable.