Two Nicaraguans and a Jamaican national were arrested off the coast of Westmoreland on Monday following the seizure of over 1, 400 pounds of ganja.

The arrests stemmed from a coordinated operation carried out by the Firearms and Narcotics Investigation Division (FNID) and the Jamaica Defence Force Coast Guard.

Speaking with IRIE FM News, Head of the FNID, Senior Superintendent Samuel Blake said the team intercepted a fishing vessel during the pre-dawn operation and a search was conducted.

During the search, the illicit drug, weighing 1, 480 pounds was found.

The three men aboard the vessel were arrested.

They have been detained on reasonable suspicion, and FNID investigators are pursuing charges under the Dangerous Drugs Act and the Criminal Justice (Suppression of Criminal Organizations) Act.

SSP Blake noted that the security force’s activity had disrupted a major drugs-for-guns syndicate operating in Westmoreland.

He said this significant seizure potentially prevented the influx of multiple prohibited weapons onto the streets of Jamaica, with the syndicate’s modus operandi involving exchanging narcotics for firearms, specifically AK-47 rifles.