27 kg of marijuana worth $500,000 seized from sloop off North West Point
Marine Unit officers and the TCI Customs Department recovered 27 kilograms of marijuana, valued by police at US$500,000, from an abandoned migrant sloop that ran aground off North West Point, Providenciales, on 29 and 30 August 2023. No one was arrested, as the vessel had no occupants when it was found, and investigations were continuing.
🇧🇸 North West Point, Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands · Bahamas
Cannabis
27 kg
Agencies
Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force Marine Unit, TCI Customs Department
Officers of the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force Marine Unit and the
Customs Department seized marijuana with an estimated street value of US$500,000
from an illegal migrant vessel off North West Point, Providenciales.[1]At
about 10:10 p.m. on Tuesday 29 August 2023, Maritime Operations personnel
reported they were pursuing an illegal vessel carrying migrants in the vicinity
of North West Point, Providenciales.[1]The vessel failed to comply with law
enforcement instructions and ran aground, and several of the migrants jumped
into the water and ran off.[1]Marine Unit officers removed one man and a
female minor from the vessel during rescue efforts.[1]A joint operation
remained under way to apprehend the migrants who had fled.[1]Marine officers
retrieved 52 packages floating in the water near the grounded vessel.[1]A
subsequent search of the vessel by Customs officials found 61 more similar
packages.[1]
The Collector of Customs, Linda Malcolm, said the Customs Enforcement Unit found
27 kilograms of cannabis hidden on board the vessel when it was searched at the
commercial dock on Providenciales.[1]No arrest had been made, as there were
no occupants on board when the abandoned vessel was found.[1]The drugs were
secured and handed over to the police, and investigations were continuing.[1]
Magnetic Media reported that the police released the find on 5 September 2023
and that the two-day search produced 113 packages in total.[2]Acting
Commissioner of Police Rodney Adams credited the Customs Department, the Border
Force, the TCI Regiment and the Immigration Task Force with assisting the
operation.[1]
Photos and video
Packages of marijuana seized from the illegal sloop off North West Point, published with the police and Customs account. Photo: Turks and Caicos SUNPhoto details
The 27 kilograms is the weight of cannabis found on board the vessel; the accounts do not say how the 52 packages retrieved from the sea were weighed, or whether that material was included in the figure.
The accounts say the packages contained marijuana but give no laboratory confirmation of the substance.
No arrests, charges or court outcome were reported; the accounts say only that investigations were continuing.
The origin of the vessel and the drugs was not reported, and the migrants who fled were not apprehended in these accounts.
Both opened accounts reproduce the same police and Customs statements, so no independent account of the seizure was found.
The 52 and 61 package counts come from the police statement, while the 27-kilogram weight comes from the Collector of Customs; how the two sets of figures relate is not explained.
Drug Enforcement Unit officers in Grand Bahama searched a Coral Gardens residence on May 6, 2026 and found nothing illegal inside, but then seized about 1 lb. 2 oz. of suspected hydroponic marijuana from an abandoned building across the street, valued at $2,320. No arrests were made.
The Royal Bahamas Defence Force and the U.S. Coast Guard intercepted a go-fast boat 38 nautical miles southwest of Mars Bay, Andros, on 4 May 2026 and seized 2,576 pounds (1,168 kg) of hydroponic cannabis. Two Bahamian men, aged 37 and 53, were arrested and police estimated the haul at $6.4 million.
Bahamian Drug Enforcement Unit and Customs officers intercepted a 25-28ft go-fast vessel at a marina in the Lucaya area of Grand Bahama around noon on 26 February 2025 and found about 500 pounds of suspected marijuana. Two Bahamian men from New Providence, aged 35 and 38, were arrested, and police estimated the street value at $1.5 million.
Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force officers seized cannabis sativa worth an estimated US$2.83 million in two interceptions of migrant vessels at Bird Rock and Jones Cay on Providenciales on 16 and 17 August 2024. Fifty-six migrants were detained in the two cannabis-related landings, and police said the investigation was continuing.
