Special Investigations Unit officers, the accused and their legal representative, and officers of the Magistrates’ Court attend a Special Sitting of the Court at the Road Town Police Station last Thursday. (Photo: RVIPF)

The Royal Virgin Islands Police Force carried out the destruction of 17 bales of cocaine at the Pockwood Pond incinerator last Saturday, according to a RVIPF statement.

 

Special Investigations Unit officers, the accused and their legal representative, and officers of the Magistrates’ Court attend a Special Sitting of the Court at the Road Town Police Station last Thursday. (Photo: RVIPF)
Senior Magistrate Tamia Richards gave the destruction order for 16 bales following last Thursday’s Special Sitting of the Magistrates’ Court at the Road Town Police Station, where she inspected the content and weight of each bale. She then ordered that a sample of each bale be retained for evidence.

The RVIPF Special Investigations detectives, representatives from the Director of Public Prosecutions office, and the two men charged for possession of the cocaine and their legal representative attended the sitting.

The two men, Didier Steevenson Triana Gomez, 22, of Venezuela, and Julio Leonard Minaya Tejeda, 20, of the Dominican Republic, were also charged with unlawful possession of prohibited ammunition under the new Firearms and Air Gun (Amendment) Act, according to the RVIPF statement.

In May, the two men were aboard a boat intercepted near Ginger Island during an operation led by United States law enforcement agencies. A third passenger, Serge Jacques Sylvain Tinturier, 47, born in Metz, France, was fatality shot during the operation, according to Police Information Officer Diane Drayton.

The 16 bales of cocaine were seized from the boat, while the additional bale was later recovered off Norman Island, according to the RVIPF.

The content of one bale, which includes on average 30 blocks of cocaine, is laid out on a table. (Photo: RVIPF)
Each of the 17 incinerated bales weighed more than 32 kilograms for a total of 553.36 kilograms for a street value of $55.3 million, according to the RVIPF.

A member of the Police Service Commission was present to witness the destruction of the drugs.  

The content of one bale is incinerated. (Photo: RVIPF)