Some of the boxes of ganja that were seized Sunday at Gordon Cay, awaiting export. The drug was yesterday taken to the narcotics headquarters on Spanish Town Road in Kingston. (Photo: Garfield Robinson)

THE police have seized nearly 10,000 pounds of marijuana -- which traffickers attempted to disguise as yams for export -- at Kingston's container port, being readied for shipping to the United States.

The drug has an estimated street value of $1.4 billion.

The find was made on Sunday by the Contraband Enforcement Team during routine checks of containers at the Gordon Cay facility waiting for loading on ships.

"The vigilance of the security forces, who were doing routine checks, is responsible for this ganja find," said the head of the narcotics police, Senior Superintendent Carl Williams.

The drug was packed in cardboard cartons with the markings "Produce of Jamaica" and packed alongside other cartons of yam, but labelled "Product of Jamaica". There was a total of 248 boxes.

Yesterday, workers at the narcotics base sifted through the boxes to determine which had yams and those with marijuana. They also carefully weighed the drug which came up to 9,027 pounds.

One of the factors that apparently alerted the police to the likelihood of contraband being in the shipment, destined for New York and New Jersey, was the discrepancy in the weight of the boxes.

Each export box of yam has a standard weight of 45 pounds. Those with the marijuana weighed 55 pounds -- 10 pounds heavier.

Although no arrests have been made in connection with the seize, Williams said that the police were following several leads in the investigation.

He was also particularly pleased with the find.

"We are happy with the way we started the year," Williams told the Observer. "If this shipment was found in the US by their authorities, it would be sure to have dire effects on the agriculture industry."

Yam exports, in particular, he said, would be particularly hurt.

Jamaica is only now rebuilding its exports of yam to the United States after an agreement between Kingston and Washington on procedures for preserving the product after it has been cut to export sizes.

The Americans had previously complained about the material used to prevent moulding and spoilage of the cut yams, arguing that the substance that was previously used could affect people's health.

At its peak, yam exports to the US reached over US$12 million a year.

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