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<span style="font-weight: bold">News Source: OTGNR - </span>
<span style="font-weight: bold"> Confirmed : Christopher ' Dudus ' Co...gy Report ...</span>
Jamaica continues to be the largest Caribbean supplier of marijuana to the United States. Cocaine and synthetic drugs are not produced locally, but Jamaica is a transit point for cocaine trafficked from Central and South America to North America. Drug production and trafficking in Jamaica are both enabled and accompanied by organized crime, domestic and international gang activity, and endemic police corruption. The gun trade for illicit drugs exacerbates the problem as undocumented handguns flow freely into the country. Recent assessments by the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) indicate that a significant quantity of illegal firearms entering Jamaica originated in the United States.Jamaican law stipulates that possession or use of cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and ecstasy are illegal and subject to criminal and civil penalties. The illegitimate possession of precursor chemicals is also prohibited by law, and, under the Precursor Chemicals Act of 2005, violations are punishable by criminal and civil penalties up to $35,000 and/or 3 years imprisonment. Jamaica is a signatory to the 1988 United Nations (UN) Drug Convention.Over the last three years, Jamaica's seizures of narcotics have generally decreased along with marijuana eradication efforts. This trend is largely the result of financial constraints on the JCF and the Jamaica Defense Force (JDF) in addition to a shift in focus and resources toward responding to natural disasters, combating gang activity, and addressing Jamaica's high murder rate. There were 1,428 murders in 2010 which is a 15 percent decrease from the 1,682 murders in 2009. However, Jamaica's per capita murder rate was 52 per 100,000 citizens in 2010, giving it one of the highest murder rates in the world. The JCF estimated that 26 percent of the murders were gang related and suspected that gang rivalry was a motive for a large portion of the remainder. The JCF estimated that approximately 300 criminal gangs were operating in Jamaica in 2010. B. Drug Control Accomplishments, Policies, and Trends 1. Institutional DevelopmentCooperation between the GOJ and the United States government (USG) in efforts to curb narcotics and related transnational crime remains strong overall. The USG's primary GOJ partners are the JCF and the JDF which are both under the administration of the Ministry of National Security.The GOJ and the USG have a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) that assists in evidence sharing. The USG and GOJ also have a reciprocal asset sharing agreement and a bilateral law enforcement agreement governing cooperation to stop the flow of illegal drugs by maritime means. Jamaica is a party to the Inter-American Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters, the 1961 UN Single Convention as amended by the 1972 Protocol, the1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances, the 1988 UN Drug Convention, the 1996 Inter-American Convention Against Corruption, the UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime and its three protocols, and the UN Convention Against Corruption. The GOJ has signed, but has not ratified, the Caribbean Regional Maritime Counterdrug Agreement.The 1991 extradition treaty between the USG and the GOJ is actively and successfully used by the USG to extradite suspected criminals from Jamaica. Extradition requests are normally processed in a routine and timely manner by Jamaican political and judicial authorities. However, the 2009 request for the extradition of alleged drug and firearms trafficker, Christopher "Dudus" Coke, languished for nine months before the Attorney General signed the authority to proceed with Coke's arrest. Coke was wanted in the United States on drug and firearms trafficking charges. In May 2010, the GOJ acted to arrest and extradite Coke in a large-scale JCF and JDF operation that resulted in 73 deaths and, ultimately, the arrest and extradition of Coke to the United States where he awaits trial. Report can be view at http://www.state.gov/p/inl/rls/nrcrp...6361.htm OGNR is not responsible for the contents of external links.http://www.state.gov/p/inl/rls/nrcrp...ol1/156361.htm
<span style="font-weight: bold"> Confirmed : Christopher ' Dudus ' Co...gy Report ...</span>
Jamaica continues to be the largest Caribbean supplier of marijuana to the United States. Cocaine and synthetic drugs are not produced locally, but Jamaica is a transit point for cocaine trafficked from Central and South America to North America. Drug production and trafficking in Jamaica are both enabled and accompanied by organized crime, domestic and international gang activity, and endemic police corruption. The gun trade for illicit drugs exacerbates the problem as undocumented handguns flow freely into the country. Recent assessments by the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) indicate that a significant quantity of illegal firearms entering Jamaica originated in the United States.Jamaican law stipulates that possession or use of cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and ecstasy are illegal and subject to criminal and civil penalties. The illegitimate possession of precursor chemicals is also prohibited by law, and, under the Precursor Chemicals Act of 2005, violations are punishable by criminal and civil penalties up to $35,000 and/or 3 years imprisonment. Jamaica is a signatory to the 1988 United Nations (UN) Drug Convention.Over the last three years, Jamaica's seizures of narcotics have generally decreased along with marijuana eradication efforts. This trend is largely the result of financial constraints on the JCF and the Jamaica Defense Force (JDF) in addition to a shift in focus and resources toward responding to natural disasters, combating gang activity, and addressing Jamaica's high murder rate. There were 1,428 murders in 2010 which is a 15 percent decrease from the 1,682 murders in 2009. However, Jamaica's per capita murder rate was 52 per 100,000 citizens in 2010, giving it one of the highest murder rates in the world. The JCF estimated that 26 percent of the murders were gang related and suspected that gang rivalry was a motive for a large portion of the remainder. The JCF estimated that approximately 300 criminal gangs were operating in Jamaica in 2010. B. Drug Control Accomplishments, Policies, and Trends 1. Institutional DevelopmentCooperation between the GOJ and the United States government (USG) in efforts to curb narcotics and related transnational crime remains strong overall. The USG's primary GOJ partners are the JCF and the JDF which are both under the administration of the Ministry of National Security.The GOJ and the USG have a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) that assists in evidence sharing. The USG and GOJ also have a reciprocal asset sharing agreement and a bilateral law enforcement agreement governing cooperation to stop the flow of illegal drugs by maritime means. Jamaica is a party to the Inter-American Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters, the 1961 UN Single Convention as amended by the 1972 Protocol, the1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances, the 1988 UN Drug Convention, the 1996 Inter-American Convention Against Corruption, the UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime and its three protocols, and the UN Convention Against Corruption. The GOJ has signed, but has not ratified, the Caribbean Regional Maritime Counterdrug Agreement.The 1991 extradition treaty between the USG and the GOJ is actively and successfully used by the USG to extradite suspected criminals from Jamaica. Extradition requests are normally processed in a routine and timely manner by Jamaican political and judicial authorities. However, the 2009 request for the extradition of alleged drug and firearms trafficker, Christopher "Dudus" Coke, languished for nine months before the Attorney General signed the authority to proceed with Coke's arrest. Coke was wanted in the United States on drug and firearms trafficking charges. In May 2010, the GOJ acted to arrest and extradite Coke in a large-scale JCF and JDF operation that resulted in 73 deaths and, ultimately, the arrest and extradition of Coke to the United States where he awaits trial. Report can be view at http://www.state.gov/p/inl/rls/nrcrp...6361.htm OGNR is not responsible for the contents of external links.http://www.state.gov/p/inl/rls/nrcrp...ol1/156361.htm