Aftershocks rattle KFTL after cocaine sting

Heightened security and growing unease gripped Kingston Freeport Terminal Limited (KFTL) on Saturday, a day after a major cocaine bust led to the arrest of eight people and intensified an investigation into an alleged drug-smuggling syndicate with connections to the facility.

The Sunday Gleaner has learnt that the container seized during Friday’s operation was scheduled for export and was laden with goods labelled “jerk seasoning”, according to a source familiar with the investigation.

The source did not disclose the intended destination of the container, and investigators have not publicly stated where the shipment was headed.

“A lot of the staff on the morning shift called out of work [on Saturday],” a source told The Sunday Gleaner.

The development comes a day after the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) announced a major multi-agency operation at the terminal involving more than 100 police personnel drawn from several formations.

The operation involved the police’s Firearms and Narcotics Investigation Division, the Jamaica Customs Agency, and the Specialised Operations Branch.

The scale of the operation was evident as access to the facility was restricted and persons inside were prevented from freely moving to their vehicles or using their cellphones in some instances.

Marcus Garvey Drive was also completely blocked off as the authorities prepared to move the trailer containing the seized shipment to the narcotics headquarters on Spanish Town Road, according to a source familiar with Friday’s operation.

According to the police, the operation followed an investigation last week into a cocaine shipment valued at approximately $1 billion.

Eight people were arrested, several of them employees of the terminal and reportedly suspected of being part of a drug-smuggling syndicate operating at the facility.

“The operation was well planned. Persons were in plain clothes as in covert tactics used and they just moved in. Serve dem right, because some of them were just too brazen,” a source told The Sunday Gleaner.

The police have not publicly identified the eight people or disclosed their specific roles, and no further update was provided yesterday on the status of the investigation.

The arrests have created unease among some workers at the facility.

A source familiar with developments told The Sunday Gleaner that personnel working in sensitive areas had been advised to exercise caution.

“We just got some communication advising that persons working in sensitive areas should be mindful of where we go and be aware of our surroundings,” the source said.

The latest operation comes against a backdrop of record cocaine seizures in Jamaica this year.

In June, the JCF reported that more than 5,100 kilogrammes of cocaine, valued at approximately $3 billion, had been seized since the start of 2026.

The police said that was the highest amount seized in Jamaica in a decade, and more than double the previous annual record of 2,508 kilogrammes recorded in 2024.

The total up to June this year had also surpassed the combined amount seized during the six-year period from 2016 to 2021.

In March, the JCF described the seizure of more than 6,000 pounds of cocaine off the coast of St Elizabeth as the largest single cocaine seizure in Jamaica’s recorded history. The haul was valued at approximately $1.65 billion.

Jamaica remains on the United States’ fiscal year 2026 list of countries designated as major drug transit or major illicit drug-producing countries.

The United States says countries are placed on the list based on geographic, commercial and economic factors that allow drugs or precursor chemicals to be transited or produced. The designation does not necessarily represent a judgement on a government’s counternarcotics efforts or its level of cooperation with the United States.

andre.williams@gleanerjm.com