TNAG-1709-FCO40-2384-Hong-Kong-narcotics-offences-and-drug-trafficking-1988 — Page 39

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Assets for U.S./Bahamian first six months of 1987:

interdiction increased in the

a. The helicopter-borne Operation Bahamas and Turks and Caicos (OPBAT) and Operation Bandit (US-based Customs helicopters) operated eight helicopters from four sites with 74 U.S. and 24 Bahamian police personnel;

Increase in U.S. personnel: the assignment to the Embassy of a resident U.S. Coast Guard officer, the approved increase to 17

17 permanent DEA personnel, and the approval of three permanent customs personnel;

b.

c.

d.

The RBDF's receipt in March of two confiscated cigarette boats from U.S. Customs which, along with three others already in the

the RBDF fleet, were made operational by grants from the Department of State's Bureau of International Narcotics Matters;

The initiation of U.S. Customs operations from the Gun Cay RBDF base near Bimini (60 miles from Miami), a major locus for drug trafficking activities.

Strong anti-drug legislation, proposed by the Bahamian Government and passed by Parliament in December 1986, became effective on March 10, 1987. In addition to permitting the confiscation of drug-derived property from convicted drug traffickers, this legislation allows for the tracing and forfeiture of such assets even from suspected (not convicted) drug traffickers. As this legislation lays the groundwork for depriving traffickers of their criminally-derived gains, court actions under the Act are keenly awaited.

In February, a new corruption investigation unit was established within the Royal Bahamas Police Force with authority to investigate not only the police, but also personnel from the Defense Force Immigration and Customs. Although no prosecutions are known to have taken place from its investigations, this new unit has the potential to root out some of the types of corruption uncovered by the Commission of Inquiry which issued its report in December 1984 after a year of investigation.

Despite recommendations in that 1984 report, there have been по subsequent prosecutions of public officers under the Prevention of Bribery Act, nor has any action been taken against the family island commissioners who were found by the Royal Commission of Inquiry report to have suspiciously large bank accounts. Subsequent court prosecutions of those charged