Police destroy nearly 6 000 cannabis plants in St John operation

Police officers swept through several rural communities across St John on Saturday in a major anti-narcotics operation, destroying nearly 6 000 cannabis plants with an estimated street value exceeding $1.4m.

Members of the Special Operations Management Division launched Operation Green Bay in the early morning, targeting dense brush and farmland in Welch, Cliff Cottage, Bath Land and Colleton, police said. The raid resulted in the uprooting and eradication of 5 968 cannabis plants, ranging from small seedlings to mature trees standing up to eight feet high.

Authorities confirmed that the seized vegetation weighed a combined 356.79kg. Despite the scale of the haul, no suspects were apprehended during the sweep, and police said investigations were continuing as they sought to identify the organizers behind the illicit cultivation network.

The operation was highly visible in St John, where residents described a strong smell from the harvested plants and a substantial police presence.

For many living nearby, the first sign of the raid was the overwhelming stench of the harvested plants and the early morning arrival of law enforcement personnel. One senior resident, who has lived in the parish for more than six decades, expressed disbelief at the size of the plantation uncovered near his home.

“When it passed there, it really affected me,” the resident said. “It was very strong. To have so much, nearly six thousand, that is true. I have lived here, me and my kids, at least 65 years and I have never seen this environment like this yet. I have never seen anything like that before.”

Reflecting on the motivations driving young people towards illicit agriculture, the resident noted that economic desperation often fuels the cycle. “It looks very ridiculous. Planting and then put my house in danger. It is a lot of money, but see, young boys, it is like they don’t care at all. You can’t stop the wasteful planting, you know? When they are planting, they are going to want money, so they will continue. All attempts to stop it, it will never happen. But 6 000 plants, that’s a lot of money.”

When asked what message he would pass on to the young people involved in such high-risk ventures, his warning was stark: “Don’t plant more because you put yourself in trouble, you end up in jail, and when you’re done, you’re going to feel the pain. The police are doing their job, they have a job to do.”

Another resident detailed the scale and coordination of the police response, describing how officers moved methodically through the terrain using surveillance equipment.

“From minutes to five in the morning, the men started rolling in,” he recalled. “They searched down here first, then they went up, searching everything with drones and flames. They didn’t leave until a little after 12. That is a long time. But the police have got to do what they have got to do. They do their job by all means.”

But he voiced a more cynical view regarding the long-term effectiveness of such operations, suggesting that erasing one farm simply opens space for another while doing little to address underlying social causes.

“How it is, they go after one on the island and another door opens up for another,” he observed. “The drugs that they are finding locally cannot amass to what police cannot catch. Since around 2002, St John got stigmatized as a whole agricultural place for marijuana. But there is a trickle-down effect. When youngsters aren’t getting anywhere and they can’t get any work, the next best thing they are going to do is go out and plant, because they need money.”

Not everyone in the area was caught up in the drama of the morning raid. Another resident said she barely noticed the law enforcement operation taking place down the road, as she prepared for her daily routine.

“I saw a truck come down, so I was like, okay, something is going on, and that was it,” she said. “I had to leave home to go about my lawful business, so I had a shower, stepped in the car, and went on. The drugs don’t really interest me or concern me, I don’t get in their way, and they don’t get in mine. The police were just doing regular policing work. The people down in the gap who sit outside under the trees, they are the active ones moving around who would see and know a lot more than me.”

Police have urged anyone with information regarding the ownership of the seized crops to come forward as investigations continue.

(RR)