SOME residents, as well as workers in Havendale and the adjoining community of Meadowbrook in St Andrew, expressed shock on Thursday that alleged drug traffickers had been operating in the area following a $12-billion cocaine bust Tuesday.

Law enforcement officers did not give the exact location the illegal drug was seized, but checks by the Jamaica Observer reveal that the massive cocaine haul took place at premises located on Riverside Drive in Havendale.

One Havendale resident who requested anonymity said he had no idea that people living at the premises were living that way.

“I never know it was so much money mi a walk past a daytime. [Several] bags the police dem throw out a the house. Pure bundles. I believe that it was coming straight from Colombia. Those guys are our friends. They communicate with everybody. All now the youth in the place are vexed, because they can’t believe a so the man dem heavy. Now we know why they were rolling so high, with luxury vehicles,” the man said.

“I even believe that we can’t trust the value reported by the police. It must have been an inside job that caused them to crack down. The people who live over there are ‘heartical’ people. They don’t disrespect anybody. They will more come and ask what we want to drink,” the resident said.

He continued: “More time dem come and make sure the youth dem good with drinks, but now we realise how dem food big and what they have been giving us was just a little something.”

A gardener in the community remarked that what police found was just a small bit compared to what may exist in that and many other upscale communities like Havendale.

“A just that them find. The whole place is infested with it all over Jamaica, but it up yah suh wild, wild. It nuff. Whole heap more could be in the place. This area in particular is getting out of hand. Many people are selling their properties because they don’t want to get caught up. One man I know went back to foreign and said he is going to sell his house because he can’t deal with what is going on in the area,” the gardener said.

Another man who works in the area told the Observer that he was shocked when he learned of the drug bust.

“It is shocking. All I can say is ‘wow!’”

Another worker said he was not from the area but was very shocked by the news.

“It is frightening, of course, and it does make me feel unsafe. I just want to finish what I am doing and get out of here.”

However, another man told the Observer that he was not surprised at all by the news.

“I am not shocked. The whole place is filled with evil. A just a few people deal with good. Material things a run the place. Nobody cares about humanity anymore. They just care to gain more vanity. Nothing nuh strange to me because everybody wants money. Nobody is preserving values. Values weak out and dem nuh business.”

An elderly resident who was very familiar with the situation, commented, “When man want money, they do anything”.

“I am not surprised. Somebody gave them away but I don’t business wid dem people deh. Many places where you see high-rise buildings and so on, it is done by men who do drugs and use up the money. I know that people are out there doing their thing”. he said.

The drug raid was carried out by the Counter-Terrorism and Organised Crime Investigation Branch and the Narcotics Division.

According to the police, five people have been taken into custody and two motor vehicles were seized. The names of the suspects are being withheld pending further investigation. The police said it was an intelligence-driven operation which lasted for more than three hours.

The Observer understands that the drugs weighed approximately 2,600 kilograms or 5,569 pounds with a street value of US$75.79 million or approximately $12 billion.

“A whole heap a cocaine that,” a police source said.

Up to press time on Thursday it was not clear whether criminal charges had been laid against any of the five men arrested.