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Cops get more speed
Powerful bikes seized by Customs go to police
BY INGRID BROWN Observer senior reporter browni@jamaicaobserver.com
Monday, May 11, 2009
TWO powerful motorcycles - a BMW and a Kawasaki, seized by Customs because they exceeded the maximum cc ratings permitted into Jamaica - were Friday handed over to the police.
Customs branch manager at Kingston Wharf, Everton Morgan said the decision was taken to give the motorcycles to the police after it was discovered they were illegally imported and well above the allowable engine size and speed.
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| These motorcycles - a 1100 cc BMW and a 750 cc Kawasaki, which were seized by the Customs Department because they exceeded the allowable cc rating - were Friday handed over to the police. (Photo: Naphtali Junior) |
"A lot of these bikes disintegrate to zero because (after being imported) they cannot be sold and so over the years they just rot away while they could have been given to the police to help fight crime," Morgan said.
The BMW motorcycle, which was imported last year, has a 1100 cc engine while the Kawasaki, which arrived in the island last year, has a 750 cc engine.
Morgan said the importer of the Kawasaki attempted to clear the vehicle, however, the BMW motorcycle importer failed to show up at Customs.
The Kawasaki importer, said Morgan, attempted to present documentation showing that the motorcycle was within the allowable cc ratings. However, he said Customs, after closer scrutiny, discovered that it had a bigger engine than that permitted into the island.
He said it appeared that the BMW was not legitimately imported as it was discovered stashed in a wooden crate.
Morgan explained that Customs regulations stipulate that a specific number of days must pass before goods not cleared by importers are taken to the Queen's Warehouse.
"While at the Queen's Warehouse you have a maximum of three more months before a public auction can be held," he said.
However, because they were above the allowable engine capacity the Trade Board allowed into the island, they could not be sold in an auction.
When asked how those powerful motorcycles were allowed to come into the island in the first place, Morgan said goods often arrived in a consolidated container which may contain goods for several consignees. These are usually checked once they arrive at Customs.
He said in this case the importers would not be able to request that the motorcycles be returned to the country of shipment since they would have already contravened sections of the Custom Act, and therefore would be liable to a fine.
It was not clear Friday if the importers of the two motorcycles were being sought for breaches of the Customs Act.
In the meantime, Morgan said he was satisfied that the police would be able to utilise the two motorcycles as a number of other vehicles imported in a similar manner were left to rot.
In this instance, he said, Customs sought the approval of the finance ministry and was eventually given the green light to hand them over to the police. In the meanwhile, Errol Reid, head of the Police Transport and Repairs Division, said the two motorcycles handed over Friday would be used for special assignments.
He said the police have BMW motorcycles in their fleet, although not in the same class as the one handed over Friday.
The motorcycles, Reid said, would be helpful to the police's fight in crime. ". Anything the police get as it relates to usable assets is good," he said.
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