Table Of Content
- Do Cruise Ships Check for Drugs?
- sisters on cruise ship MSC Seascape arrested for drug smuggling (4.75 kg cocaine)
- Illicit Finances Behind Drug Smuggling
- Do They Check Your Bags on a Cruise Ship?
- Police in Belize Arrest Three NCL Crew Members for Smuggling Cocaine
- Commonly Smuggled Goods
- Safety Measures For Passengers
And if anyone were to sneak a bomb onto a cruise ship the consequences would be disastrous. For a two year period from 2012 to 2014, as many as thirty-four people who posed as cruise ship passengers on Costa ships participated in a smuggling network that transported hashish from Morocco to Brazil and cocaine from South America to Europe, according to the The Local newspaper in France. We previously reported that several people were arrested for smuggling over 16 kilos of cocaine while disembarking the Costa Pacifica in Malaga following a transatlantic cruise from South America several years ago. A video posted on the Brazilian news outlet G1 / Globo shows drug dogs alerting on luggage, which contained false bottoms, (photo below) and one man who was arrested with 1.74 kilos of cocaine wrapped around his waist (photo right). Ultimately, Northwood believes, operators have to keep in mind that drug smuggling on their vessels is a fact of life and, at the same time, one that can be minimised in scope if a cruise ship is prudent in the way it presents itself. Like Iglehart, Northwood believes that the security regime on the cruise ships themselves remains strong.
Do Cruise Ships Check for Drugs?
The Miami Herald covered the drug bust and identified the MSC crew members, who smuggled the drugs, to be citizens of Jamaica and South Africa. The senior citizens posed as tourists taking cruise holidays around South America to pick up packages of the drug to bring back to Spain. Two women in their sixties, who were chosen as "drug mules" because they were less likely to arouse the suspicion of authorities, were arrested as they prepared to disembark from a cruise ship when it docked in the port of Cadiz, south-western Spain. Police found 27 kilos (59 lbs) of pure cocaine hidden in their cabin. “Smugglers are always looking for different means of moving stuff around,” says Gerry Northwood, maritime security consultant with MAST and a former captain in the Royal Navy. Most of Northwood’s career has been spent pursuing criminals on the high seas, from intercepting opportunistic gun runners on patrol boats off Northern Ireland during the Troubles to leading counter-piracy operations in the Indian Ocean as the commander of HMS Liverpool.
sisters on cruise ship MSC Seascape arrested for drug smuggling (4.75 kg cocaine)
It is the second year in a row that law enforcement personnel have made large numbers of drug-related arrests before Holy Ship! Passengers from two back-to-back cruises on suspicion of drug possession, including multiple individuals who were accused of intending to sell drugs on board. Once the types of drugs being smuggled have been identified, law enforcement must develop effective strategies for detecting them.
Illicit Finances Behind Drug Smuggling
As the headlines show, however, seizures of multiple ‘bricks’ among passengers – invariably mules, contracted for a single job by a professional drug trafficker – have persisted. The capture of these passengers, often desperate or reckless individuals in need of short-term cash, is symptomatic of smuggling organisations’ larger approach to their business. The German frigate Hessen has departed the Red Sea without replacement, the Bundeswehr reported Sunday. In a statement, vessel operator Norwegian Cruise Lines emphasized that it does not permit illicit substances on board. Herder told investigators she had left her backpack behind when she went to the bathroom and came back to find it “heavier than she originally remembered.” Parker said she was offered a bag to carry her towels and belongings by one of the two people they met.
As in much of life, the very few ruin things for the majority. Agree, the US drug habit ruins far more than our own country and the amount of money generated is a blank check for corruption at all levels. They were removed at the next port and turned over to authorities. They ended up under cabin confinement with a security officer standing guard round the clock outside their door. We were on a cruise where it was obvious the young men in a cabin down the hall were "casual" pot smokers. We were travelling with another couple and they did not get raided.
India’s navy is continuing to demonstrate its prowess joining the world stage among the most elite strike teams. The Combined Maritime Force (CMF) CTF 150 which is currently being led by the Canadians reports India recently undertook its first interdiction of illicit narcotics as a member of CMF. The Indian frigate Talwar contributed to Focused Operation Crimson Barracuda which CTF was undertaking to interrupt the smuggling of illicit narcotics in the Arabian Sea. On July 20, when the cruise was back in the Bahamas, the sisters did not appear to disembark, per the security footage. And on July 21 in Mexico, they disembarked carrying smaller bags.
Our state room attendant told us that this happens just about every week. In an affidavit admitted to the court, Roberge said that at the time she was "a stupid young woman" who was governed by superficial goals. Lagace told the court she took part to settle a debt in Canada. Roberge's accomplice with whom she shared a cabin, Isabelle Lagace, 29, was sentenced in November to 7 ½ years in prison backdated to their arrest. Lagace will also likely be deported after serving a non-parole period of 4 ½ years.
Roberge told the court she suspected drugs were brought aboard at Peru, because of increased activity during a stopover there. Police with sniffer dogs found 35 kilograms of cocaine in their cabin on Aug. 28, 2016, when the liner, operated by California-based Princess Cruises, berthed in Sydney. Three Canadians have pleaded guilty to smuggling 95 kilograms of the drug in suitcases aboard the MS Sea Princess during a seven-week cruise in 2016 from Britain to Ireland, the United States, Bermuda, Colombia, Panama, Ecuador, Peru, Chile then Australia. Drug smuggling is not just a threat to the security of the Far East. In San Juan, Puerto Rico, Special Agent Brent Iglehart combats the efforts of drugs gangs to smuggle marijuana, cocaine and heroin into the US on a daily basis. Assigned to the Border Enforcement Security Taskforce (BEST), a division of the Department of Homeland Security, Iglehart is well acquainted with the lengths traffickers are prepared to go to in order to ship their product to market.
The MSC Seaside cruise ship involved in this latest smuggling attempt has been used for at least one prior cocaine-smuggling episode which was uncovered in the last few years . After reviewing security footage from the first day of the cruise, officers found that both sisters had checked in wearing dark-colored backpacks. They also wore the backpacks out and back onboard at the cruise’s July 17 stop in the Bahamas and July 19 stop in Jamaica. While at the Jamaica stop, the sisters returned to the ship separately, both wearing the backpacks.
Last year saw a long succession of headlines showcasing significant drug seizures aboard cruise ships the world over. In May, seven port workers in Miami were imprisoned for conspiracy to import and distribute cocaine. The upcoming Smuggling Drugs On Cruise Ships Forum 2022 is one of the most important events in the maritime industry, and it will provide an opportunity for stakeholders to discuss the current state of drug smuggling on cruise ships and to develop strategies to prevent and detect this type of crime. The prosecution must also prove that any drugs found on board were intended for sale or distribution in order to secure a conviction for trafficking offences. The local police in Funchal Madeira Island (Portugal’s autonomous territory) boarded the MSC cruise ship, seized 132 kilos of cocaine and arrested 3 male passengers (aged 29, 32, 33) who they charged them with drug smuggling.
“She did not notice anything suspicious about the bag because she did not see anything inside it,” the complaint says. In their interviews with officers, both sisters denied knowledge of narcotics in their backpacks, and both said they were neither paid nor asked to smuggle narcotics. Simon Patrick Dray, Parker’s attorney listed in court documents, confirmed the charges to The Washington Post and said his client will be entering a plea of not guilty. An attorney listed for Herder did not immediately respond to a request for comment. According to court documents, Schneeka Parker and Takeia Herder have been charged with conspiracy to import a controlled substance and importation of a controlled substance. Carnival has shown that when they find CBD gummies on a person boarding, they will ban them for life.
Shipment of Mob drugs was hidden aboard the Costa Concordia on its doomed final voyage - The Independent
Shipment of Mob drugs was hidden aboard the Costa Concordia on its doomed final voyage.
Posted: Tue, 31 Mar 2015 07:00:00 GMT [source]
It will also provide attendees with up-to-date information on global drug trafficking trends, as well as insight into innovative prevention techniques. The forum will be an invaluable opportunity to gain insight and expertise from experienced professionals in the area of drug smuggling and cruise ship security. According to a criminal complaint made by a federal investigator, two sisters recently went on a weeklong cruise to the Bahamas, Jamaica, and Mexico aboard the MSC Seascape cruise ship from PortMiami Florida. Upon their return to Miami on July 23rd, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers conducted an enforcement operation and encountered the sisters in their shared cabin.
On a much more serious note, I have always said that for every drug lord, there are hundreds or thousands of users out there. Wish we could stop the use of drugs and then it wouldn't be such a lucrative business for these scum bags of the world. For the intent of the law you only need be within 100 miles of the border. Neither had I until it happened 😄 this was cruise number 28.
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