OTTAWA – July 2, 2013 – INTERPOL’s Operation Lionfish has resulted in 142 arrests and the seizure of more than $170,000 US in cash, nearly 30 tons of cocaine, heroin and marijuana, 8 tons of precursor drugs as well as 42 illegal guns and 15 vessels.
RCMP officers working for INTERPOL Ottawa participated in this highly successful maritime anti-smuggling operation that was focused in Central America and the Caribbean.
“INTERPOL Ottawa’s participation in this operation is key, because disrupting this activity is not only critical for the source and transit countries of these drugs and weapons, but also for the destination countries, such as Canada,” says RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson, who is also delegate for the Americas on INTERPOL’s Executive Committee. “Our strong partnership with INTERPOL continues to be crucial to combating these kinds of real threats to Canada and our neighbours.”
Operation Lionfish was led by INTERPOL’s Regional Bureau for Central America and funded by Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. It aimed to bring together the power of national, regional and international law enforcement to stem the flow of drugs and weapons from Central America and the Caribbean to other countries, including Canada.
The integrated regional operation involved more than two dozen countries in the Caribbean basin and multiple law enforcement organizations from around the world, including the RCMP.
The project involved capacity building and training in addition to the operation itself. The RCMP, which manages INTERPOL’s Ottawa bureau, played a key role in providing capacity building and training expertise in the lead-up to the operational phase of the project, as well as subject matter expertise to assist with the operation.
Through intelligence gathered by Canadian police and policing partners during the operational phase, INTERPOL continues to follow up on potential Canadian connections to drug and weapon trafficking in the Caribbean.
The results of the operation were announced today in Curacao during the opening of the biennial INTERPOL Americas’ Regional Conference (see INTERPOL HQ’s press release), where 47 countries have gathered to discuss policing challenges within the Americas.
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