The Trinidad and Tobago Government has pledged to intensify its fight against local drug trafficking networks, saying efforts will extend beyond seizing narcotics to disrupting the financial and distribution systems that support the illegal trade.
The commitment came as the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) destroyed more than 8.3 tonnes of illegal narcotics at the Caroni Cremation Site, with the drugs assigned an estimated street value of approximately TT$1.68 billion. The destruction included cocaine, marijuana and synthetic drugs, according to police.
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Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar said the value of the drugs represented roughly one percent of Trinidad and Tobago’s annual gross domestic product. She said the government’s strategy involves targeting physical drug shipments while also disrupting alleged accomplices within financial institutions, distribution networks and the public sector, with assistance from international law-enforcement agencies.
Persad-Bissessar also accused the former People’s National Movement (PNM) administrations of allowing local drug networks to operate extensively. Those claims are political allegations by the Prime Minister and were not independently established in the report.
Police Commissioner Allister Guevarro said the destruction of the seized narcotics demonstrated the scale of the illegal drug trade and its connection to violent crime. He said removing the drugs from circulation prevented them from reaching communities and potentially generating revenue for gangs.
TTPS data cited by the Trinidad Guardian showed that police seized an estimated 211.87 kilogrammes of cocaine in 2025, compared with 92 kilogrammes in 2024 and 237.67 kilogrammes in 2023. Police said the latest destruction also included synthetic drugs such as ecstasy, which Guevarro described as relatively new additions to the local market.
The government’s approach also includes international cooperation to trace money generated through narcotics trafficking and identify people who allegedly facilitate the movement and laundering of criminal proceeds. In June, Persad-Bissessar said the State had secured foreign assistance to investigate drug-trafficking and money-laundering networks and track funds allegedly moved out of Trinidad and Tobago.
The latest operation forms part of a broader security campaign following the expiration of the country’s state of emergency on September 17. The government has also advanced the Special Operations Bill 2026, which provides a proposed legal framework for targeted security operations, including temporary cordons and curfews in designated areas, with stated judicial and other oversight mechanisms.
Persad-Bissessar has maintained that the government’s campaign will target criminal networks regardless of wealth or connections. The administration has said its objective is to disrupt the drug trade at multiple levels, including the supply of narcotics, distribution networks and the financial structures that sustain organised crime.
