Police are investigating what is a potential major feud between members of a particular Junkanoo group over the donation of some $350,000 in drug money.
The money was donated to the group in recent months by a man police believe to be connected to illegal drug trafficking, law enforcement sources told the Bahama Journal Thursday.
Police sources said that in August, the donor gave $50,000 to one Junkanooer for his group to make a showing at the Fox Hill Day festivities. Another $300,000 was later donated for the upcoming Boxing Day and New Year’s Day parades, according to source.
However, police say the recipient of the funds is not able to account for the money. Now police fear that during next week’s parade, violence could erupt between warring members of the group.
The police are now seeking to bring the leaders of the group together to ease the tensions and prevent this feud from coming to a head and threatening innocent spectators at the parades.
Some members of the Junkanoo group have reportedly severed ties with the Junkanoo organization, but still intend to make an appearance on Bay Street, police say.
This Junkanoo rivalry comes as police continue to work to save the image of the Bahamas, already tainted by the cracking of a major drug operation between Bahamian and U.S. law enforcement officials.
The dispute over drug money in Junkanoo introduces a new dimension to the country’s war on the trafficking of illegal narcotics and money laundering. It is a clandestine practice police say they want to bring an immediate halt to before it becomes an accepted part of the Junkanoo culture.
“We are very concerned about all of this,” the police source said. “We don’t want those guys to go on Bay Street in a violent manner.”
The Bahama Journal has learnt that some level of violence may have already started between the feuding members. Police are investigating a recent incident that they believe could be linked to the feud.
The Journal was also able to obtain detailed information on the police investigation, including the names various players under police watch and other details concerning the friction in the group. But those details are being withheld because no formal charges have been filed against the alleged drug dealer or any member of the Junkanoo group.
Police Commissioner Paul Farquharson would not comment on this matter directly, but he warned this week that law enforcement officers are operating in a zero tolerance mode as far as drug activities and all other crimes are concerned.
“The criminal must be made to understand that this community, this Bahamian community, will not tolerate their indiscretion as far as crime is concerned,” he said. “This police force will continue to fight, if it’s only one man left on the deck.”
The commissioner also sent a message directly to drug dealers.
“Drug dealing is bad news,” he said. “Drugs destroy our young people and I have a very strong message to those dealers who will not stop. They will be brought before the court one by one, two by two, we will take them down and put them before the courts and, hopefully, they will go to prison where they rightly belong.”
Just this week, five Bahamian men, including a police officer and an Eleutheran believed to be a drug kingpin, were charged before the courts on charges related to drug smuggling.
Their arrest Monday, was a part of a joint U.S.-Bahamian operation, dubbed “Bluewater,” that resulted in the capture of 17 suspected drug traffickers.
The dismantling of the drug organization has raised fears that the Bahamas may once again be getting the reputation as a major drug haven.
The Bahama Journal
