By Kingsley Emmanuel
A SCENE from a war movie was how residents of Bruceville, Vieux Fort described a multi-jurisdictional inter agencies operation off the coast of their community, during which three men were arrested and over 200 pounds of compressed marijuana were seized from a speed boat.
During the drug bust gun fire was exchanged which had some residents of the community scampering for safety. One man was shot in the leg during the incident which occurred last Thursday between the hours of 7:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.
Residents of Bruceville say the burst of artillery came from a helicopter with bright lights which flew over the sea near Sandy Beach.
“When I heard the gun shots I left my shop and ran across the road. I heard about 10 shots and was very afraid. It’s only in movies I see that.” Cleo Jean, a resident of Brucevillle told The VOICE.
She added that the gun shots shocked the whole community and had many residents of the area worried for the whole night.
Another resident said when she heard the gun shots she froze and only came out of her home after everything had calmed down.
The following day several residents of Bruceville were seen scouring the area along Sandy Beach for what one of them described as “something of value”.
Over the years, Sandy beach has been the scene of many armed robberies. However, the gravity of the situation is not known because a number of such incidents are not reported to the police.
Last month a man was robbed there of his two cell phones at gun point by two men, but the matter was not reported to the police.
At a meeting with the business community of Vieux Fort a few months ago, the Vieux Fort police said that over the years they have received reports of a number of armed robberies on Sandy beach.
But Thursday night’s affair was no armed robbery. It was a drug bust. Police say two Saint Lucians and one Vincentian were on board a local vessel which was about to land controlled drugs into Saint Lucia.
During the operation which comprised maritime, aerial and land assets four bales and five bags of compressed cannabis weighing 97.3 kilos (214 lbs.) were discovered and seized after they was jettisoned from the vessel. Another 1.4 kilos (3 lbs.) was discovered on the person of one of the suspects.
Police say one of the suspects received a single gunshot wound to the leg. He was taken to St. Jude Hospital for medical treatment.
They say charges are expected to be laid soon against those arrested.