Smugglers have become more creative during the pandemic, with the Jamaica Customs Agency (JCA) saying it is seeing a shift in the methods employed to smuggle contraband items.

Commissioner of Customs Velma Ricketts Walker explained that her agents have observed an uptick in smuggling activities, particularly during the pandemic, as smugglers got busy in trying to beat the system.

“Throughout the COVID-19 period smugglers got creative and busy trying to penetrate border security, shifting from one area, where they normally get their products [contraband] in to another, but it’s the same response from our Contraband Enforcement Team in increased detection and seizures,” Ricketts Walker told the Jamaica Observer in a Business Forum late last year.

The commissioner of customs highlighted the significant amount of contraband being detected by her agency, which she credited to greater use of technology and increased intelligence-driven capabilities. She also observed different trends in contraband activities.

Among these trends is the fact that the smuggling of ganja into Jamaica is on the rise. Jamaica is typically a source for home-grown ganja, which is smuggled out of the island mostly to North America, a major consumer. But this is being replaced by ganja being smuggled into the country from overseas.

Ricketts Walker advised that ganja from overseas is being smuggled into Jamaica because of their higher tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is the main psychoactive compound in cannabis that produces the ‘high’ sensation. As such, these varieties of ganja have a greater potency than those grown locally.

She argued that the smuggling of ganja into Jamaica is not for consumption purposes but for transshipment. Ricketts Walker boasted that the JCA has teams in train to detect any contraband coming into the sea or airports and even via the post office, where customs officers are also posted.

Between January 2020 and September 2021, the JCA made seizures totalling 2,016, which is an average of 96 seizures each month. These seizures are for contraband, such as illicit cigarettes and narcotics, which amounted to 1,118, which represents an average narco seizure of 53 per month.

Narcotic seizure represents about 70 per cent of all seizures made during the period. During 2020, the JCA seized 1.87-million sticks of cigarettes in comparison to 47,987 between April and September 2021.

Some 542 rounds of ammunition were seized in 2020 and 127 for April to September 2021. Ten magazines were seized in 2020 in comparison to one for April to September 2020.