CJIA’s CEO chides Fly Jamaica over drug trafficking concerns

Last Updated on Saturday, 26 December 2015, 21:01 by GxMedia

The Chief Executive Officer of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), Ramesh Ghir on Saturday expressed disappointment at concerns raised by Fly Jamaica earlier in the day about the movement of drugs through the airport.

Fly Jamaica’s executive, Roxanne Reece has called for a secure, efficient and more reliable system to help stem the flow of narcotics.

She reasoned that the amount of salaries being paid and the level of persons being employed were contributing to drug smuggling.

But Ghir, in a sharp reaction, chided the Fly Jamaica official for airing her concerns publicly. “It is very disappointing and unfortunate that a director of Fly Jamaica would choose to publicly address her concerns about drug incidents at the airport without first engaging the airport authorities about such anxiety,” he said.

Ghir, who chairs the CJIA Airport Security Committee, said no such concern has ever been raised with airport authorities including the Board of Directors.

The CEO assured that the CJIA’s management would be willing to engage Fly Jamaica’s staff and directors to address security related questions. Ghir said the CJIA’s security committee remains committed to continuously working with its stakeholders to improve the passenger experience at the airport.

The CJIA, he said, remains very excited and look forward to the Fly Jamaica experience.

Government ministers have in the past stated that there has been collusion among various categories of workers at the airport in facilitating the movement of cocaine to the airport and eventually on mainly New York-bound flights.

At the same time, the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) and Narcotics Police have been intercepting several kilogrammes of cocaine in passenger luggage and cargo.