PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC)—The Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) on Sunday said it seized more than TT$6.3 million worth of marijuana that was recently imported into the country from South America.

In a statement, the TTPS said that based on intelligence information that a large shipment of narcotics had recently been imported into the country and was being stored at a location in Gasparillo, south of here, officers executed a search at two apartment buildings on Saturday.

During the search, officers discovered and seized 109 packets of high-grade Colombian cannabis weighing 57.42 kilogrammes with an estimated street value of TT$ $6,316,200, in addition to TT$119,900 and US$146 in cash.

“The narcotics and cash were found concealed within one of the apartments. No occupants were present at the time of the search. However, investigations are ongoing and arrests are imminent,” the TTPS said.

This seizure highlights the importance of coordinated inter-divisional collaboration in dismantling organised criminal networks,” it added.

Meanwhile, the police said a Surinamese national is assisting their investigations into an anti-narcotics exercise conducted last Friday in Arouca, along the east west corridor.

They said officers had been granted access to the hotel room where the suspect had been booked. During the search, officers discovered three transparent plastic bags containing Ketamine, a powerful dissociative anesthetic used in human and veterinary medicine, which also has applications in pain management and treatment-resistant depression. It is also widely known as a drug of abuse for its hallucinogenic effects.

“The suspect …was cautioned in accordance with the Judges’ Rules, arrested on suspicion of possession of a dangerous drug, and conveyed to the Besson Street Police Station along with the seized items. The quantity of suspected Ketamine has been secured and will be submitted for forensic analysis,” the police added.