Bermuda customs seize 120 lb of cannabis, three arrested in Operation Minotaur
Bermuda police and HM Customs intercepted a shipment containing about 120 pounds of cannabis, worth an estimated $5 million, and arrested three suspects when warrants were executed in Pembroke and St George's on 24 October 2022. The joint operation, named Operation Minotaur, was described by police as a significant seizure, and the police Drugs Unit said its investigation was continuing.
Bermuda Police Service officers and HM Customs officers carried out a joint
operation called Operation Minotaur on Monday, 24 October 2022.[1]HM Customs
officers intercepted a shipment found to contain approximately 120 pounds of
cannabis.[1]The Bermuda Police Service Drugs Unit was called in after the
interception.[1]Warrants were executed at a number of locations in both
Pembroke and St George’s.[1]Three suspects were arrested in connection with
the matter.[1]
Acting Detective Superintendent Sherwin Joseph of the Crime Division said the
cannabis had an estimated street value in excess of five million dollars.[1]Joseph called the seizure a major success in the combined effort by both
agencies to combat drug importation at Bermuda’s borders.[1]Police said the
Drugs Unit was continuing to investigate and that no further information would
be provided at that time.[1]The Royal Gazette reported that the raids
followed the seizure of the shipment and led to the three arrests.[2]The
Royal Gazette said the investigation into the drug seizure was still ongoing.[2]
Photos and video
Handout photo labelled Operation Minotaur, Bermuda, November 3, 2022, published by Bernews with the Bermuda Police Service statement. Image provided by the policePhoto details
Neither account says where the shipment was intercepted or how it arrived in Bermuda.
No cannabis weight or plant count found during the Pembroke and St George's searches was published, so only the intercepted shipment is counted.
The value is the police estimate of the street value of the intercepted cannabis and is stated as "in excess of" $5 million, so the figure recorded is approximate.
The three arrested people were not named and no charges, court dates or outcomes were reported.
The Royal Gazette's 2023 roundup of Bermuda drug seizures describes the shipment for this event as having been in a shipping container, but its November 2022 article does not say how the cannabis arrived.
The police handout photo published by Bernews shows the seized cannabis but no caption states at which location it was taken.
Yemariam Teshome, 21, of Ontario, pleaded not guilty in Bermuda's Supreme Court to conspiring to import more than $1 million of cannabis into the island between an unknown date and 21 June 2026, and to possessing it with intent to supply. A judge set a mention for 11 December and a fixed trial date of 15 February.
Ty Lawes was sentenced to six years in Bermuda's Supreme Court on 7 October 2026 for importing 16,855.4 grams of cannabis resin through LF Wade International Airport on 20 July 2023, when he was 17. The judge said the sentence would have exceeded ten years had he committed the offence as an adult, even with a guilty plea.
Arrested 1Charged 1Cannabis 16.8554 kgPrison 6 years
Bermuda police and HM Customs arrested four people after a joint operation on 15 March 2023 in which warrants were executed at a Hamilton business and homes in Devonshire and Pembroke, and a shipping container was seized and searched. Police valued the cannabis found in the container at $1.9 million and said the drugs unit was continuing to investigate.
Bermuda police and HM Customs arrested four people in Operation Mizar after customs intercepted a shipment containing about 58 pounds of cannabis, valued by police at $1.2 million. Officers searched three residences in Warwick, and the Drugs Unit said it was continuing to investigate.
