Bahamian law enforcement agents were amongst recipients honoured as a result of the 2013 United States Interdiction Coordinator (USIC) Award, ‘Joint Operations’ category, presentation to Operation Bahamas, Turks and Caicos (OPBAT).
The award ceremony was held Thursday, November 13, 2014 at SuperClubs Breezes on Cable Beach, during which OPBAT was the first-ever recipient of the prestigious award.
Commissioner Ellison Greenslade, Royal Bahamas Police Force and Commodore Roderick Bowe, Commander of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, headed the list of Bahamian law enforcement agents to receive top honours for the continued joint drug interdiction fight.
The annual USIC awards recognizes significant contributions to the continuing effort to counter the increasing international and asymmetric threat posed by the trafficking of narcotics and other illicit substances.
Receiving Citations were: Commissioner Ellison Greenslade, Royal Bahamas Police Force; Commodore Roderick Bowe, Commander of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force; Jesse Wozniak, Deputy Director, Southeast Region; CDR Scott Phy, USCG Air Station Clearwater Officer; CDR Mark Driver, USCG OPBAT Director; Larry Covington, Law Enforcement Adviser for Caribbean Overseas Territories & Bermuda, including Turks & Caicos; Adolpus Wright, DEA Special Agent in Charge, Miami; and AMB William Brownfield, International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs. Receiving Coins were: Kevin Brady, Air Operations Officer, Miami Air Branch; LCDR Matt Furlong, USCG Air Station Clearwater Asst Operations Officer; OSCS Jason Szczurowski, USCG OPBAT Senior Enlisted Advisor; Pascal Bacchus, Turks & Caicos Police Acting Superintendent; Senior Lt Ricardo Barry, Royal Bahamas Defence Force; Danny Escobar, DEA Nassau Country Attaché; Chief Superintendent Samuel Butler, Royal Bahamas Police Force; and Kristin Gilmore, US Embassy.
Members of The Interdiction Committee (TIC) made a special trip to Nassau to present the US Interdiction Committee 2013 Award in the Joint Operations category to OPBAT. It develops, in coordination with the U.S. Interdiction Coordinator (USIC), interagency recommendations for integrating detection, monitoring, and law enforcement with interdiction efforts to more effectively disrupt illicit drug trafficking systems.
Minister of Foreign and Immigration the Hon Fred Mitchell in his Welcoming Remarks said as The Bahamas looks towards the future, “it recognizes the vast amount of good occurring as a result of the OPBAT initiative, evident in the reduction of illicit drugs and irregular migratory flows.” He added, “The initiative has been proven to be beneficial and has become a virtual necessity in the fight against the transport of illicit drugs, an initiative that should be continued.”
Operations Bahamas, Turks & Caicos was established in 1983 as a multi-agency, international drug interdiction effort focused on stopping the flow of illegal drugs from South America and the Caribbean to The Bahamas, Turks & Caicos and the United States.
It is estimated that OPBAT has reduced the flow of cocaine through The Bahamas by 70 percent and is considered one of the most successful counter drug enforcement initiatives in the region. Located in the United States Embassy in Nassau, OPBAT is responsible for initiating and prosecuting law enforcement cases in the Bahamian “Area of Responsibility”.
“The OPBAT initiative is vitally important to reducing the flow of illicit drugs into The Bahamas, as our porous borders, afford individuals the opportunity to traverse the country illegally in an attempt to make landfall in the United States to deliver their illegal cargo,” Mr. Mitchell said.
He said that in recent years The Bahamas has seen a significant growth in violent crimes due to the movement and distribution of illicit drugs. “The movements of these drugs act as a bridge to organized crimes such as trafficking in human beings and in weapons. It has been found that criminals not only attempt to transport one particular item independent of the others, but rather, it is the trend to transport the three together,” Mr. Mitchell said.
While the primary focus has been counter drug efforts, he said that the OPBAT assets have also been utilized for natural disaster response, as well as search and rescue exercises. “Truly this is a mammoth task by any measure, and the tripartite agreement is currently exceeding all expectations,” Mr. Mitchell said.
Following the award ceremony, the officials held closed roundtable discussions on the “Narcotics Trafficking Trends and Interdiction Efforts in the Caribbean”.
Present were: Minister of National Security, the Hon. Bernard Nottage; Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration, the Hon. Fred Mitchell, Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs the Hon. Allyson Maynard-Gibson; Minister of State in the Ministry of National Security, Senator the Hon. Keith Bell; Minister of State in the Ministry of Legal Affairs, the Hon. Damien Gomez; Admiral Paul Zukunft, TIC Chairman and Coast Guard Commandant; Deputy Director Marilyn Quagliotti, Office of National Drug Control Policy, USA; Ambassador William Brownfield, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs; United States Chargè d’ Affaires, Lisa Johnson; Commissioner Ellison Greenslade, Royal Bahamas Police Force; Commodore Roderick Bowe, Commander of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force; and other Senior Government Officials from both sides.
