Customs Sint Maarten Media Report
Philipsburg – On Monday, June 12, 2023, Customs officers at the Cargo building of the Princess Juliana International Airport, inspected cargo coming in from Anguilla. On the screen of the X-Ray equipment, the officers noticed an image that gave them a reason to do further investigation. During the physical inspection of the package, they found USD 15000.00 hidden in the same. The final destination of the package was the United States. The Public prosecutor was informed. The package and its contents including the money were confiscated. No arrests were made.
On Wednesday, June 14, 2023, the lawyer from DISOSA Brand Protection Services, inspected cargo from a 40' (foot) container that Customs confiscated on Friday, March 24, 2023. The container was imported with no cargo manifest and thus all its contents were confiscated. Upon inspection of the contents of the container, Customs officers encountered items from several high-end brands including Louis Vuitton, Nike, and others. Customs suspected these items to be counterfeit and proceeded to inform DISOSA.
The items were inspected by the expert from DISOSA and confirmed to be counterfeit and were consequently seized by DISOSA. The owner of the container agreed to and will pay the brand owners an undisclosed amount of money in compensation to settle this case out of court. It is not excluded that the rest of the cargo in the container will be destroyed.
On Friday, June 16, 2023, Customs officers operating at the cargo facilities of the Princess Juliana International Airport inspected a shipment that came on that same day from Miami. With the use of modern cargo inspecting equipment Customs officers managed to intercept 10.208 kg of Marijuana. The contraband was hidden among other items in a box. The box and its contents including the contraband were confiscated. No arrests were made, however, Customs does not exclude the possibility of arrests as the investigation is ongoing.
On Saturday, June 17, 2023, Customs officers operating at the arrival hall of the Princess Juliana International Airport, checked the incoming flight of the Caribbean Airlines from Jamaica. While screening the luggage of the passengers from that flight with X-Ray equipment the officers noticed an abnormal image on the screen. During the physical inspection of the luggage, the officers encountered four metal objects. The officers drilled a hole in one of the metal objects and found that it was filled with a white substance which they recognized as pure cocaine. All four objects were subsequently cut opened and found to contain cocaine, for a total of 1.631 KG. The contraband and the luggage of the suspect were confiscated. A 30-year-old Nigerian-born male suspect, with the Initials G.E.E, bearer of St Kitts and Nevis nationality/passport, was arrested and questioned by Customs officers. The suspect remains in custody as the investigation continues.
Customs will continue with the intensified controls at the borders.
