Four men are behind bars following one of the largest drug eradication operations carried out in Antigua and Barbuda in recent memory, after law enforcement officers dismantled an unlicensed cannabis plantation near Pares Village and seized a combined haul of more than 500 plants and close to 1,000 pounds of cured cannabis.
The operation was carried out on Thursday by a joint team of law enforcement officers drawn from the Narcotics Department, the K-9 Unit, the Gangs and Suppression Unit, and Customs Enforcement.
Authorities said the officers targeted an unlicensed cannabis plantation in the area near Pares Village, where they discovered and confiscated hundreds of growing cannabis plants. A large quantity of cured cannabis, estimated at close to 1,000 pounds, was also seized during the operation.
The scale of the seizure — both in the volume of mature plants and the quantity of processed cannabis recovered — points to a well-established and organised growing operation that had been in place for a considerable period of time.
The four men were taken into custody during the operation and remain in police custody as investigations continue. Police have not released their identities, and no charges had been announced at the time of publication.
The bust comes just days after a separate cannabis operation in the All Saints area in which a man was arrested and more than a pound of cannabis seized, underscoring the intensity of narcotics enforcement activity currently being conducted across the island by the Royal Police Force of Antigua and Barbuda.
Investigations into the Pares operation remain ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Narcotics Department or the Crime-stoppers anonymous hotline at 800-TIPS (8477).
