T&T cops probe $m party financier over huge cocaine bust

(Trinidad Express) Port of Spain-Six individuals are being investigated in relation to the US$100 million cocaine bust in the United States in December where the drug was hidden in juice cans which carried local labels.

One of the people being probed is said to be a financier of a political party and may be the local mastermind behind the cocaine shipment, which was smuggled into Norfolk, Virginia, in tins labelled Trinidad Orange Juice, international law enforcement sources told the Sunday Express.

Sources said the man operates a multimillion-dollar business in Trinidad and also resides in the country.

So far, sources say, the Drug Enforcement Admi-nistration (DEA) in the United States is still investigating the matter and officers are in the process of flying to other countries, seeking more information.

Earlier this year, two DEA agents arrived in the country, seeking the assistance of Trinidad and Tobago law enforcement.

Upon their arrival, they met with two of their colleagues who are based here.

Following a meeting with local law officers, the agents are said to have departed with shipping manifests and other documents.

Speaking with the Sunday Express on Thurs-day afternoon, Assistant Commissioner

of Police Glenn Hackett said: “Local law enforcement are working alongside their foreign counterparts.”

Probed further as to who are the suspects, Hackett only said the matter is still the subject of an investigation.

Also contacted was National Security Minister Gary Griffith, who said regardless of who “the person is, there will be a price to pay. I know the matter with the cocaine bust; they (police) are working hand in hand with the DEA.

“Many people think this is a cold case, but it isn’t. Just by the fact that the DEA are heavily involved in this case means it will not be closed overnight,” Griffith said.

He said he has done research, and cases like this take about a year or more to be thoroughly investigated.

“What they (DEA) do is not what we see here, where you grab one person and the rest get away. No… from the driver, to the shipper to the receiver are caught. From captain to cook will be taken down. They (DEA) look at the paper trail of all their financiers and proceed from there,” he said.