OME 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!’”
