The Honorable Roland Duncan, Minister of Justice hereby wishes to respond with reference to the newspaper article of Saturday April 21, 2012, entitled "Worries about St.Maarten as drug smuggling haven".
The article in question mentions that "According to the US State department, a part of the one third of the total world production of cocaine which is smuggled via the Caribbean is being smuggled via Sint Maarten’s borders." However, the article fails to mention the exact figures of how much drugs which appear in Europe or America actually come from or have passed through Sint Maarten’s borders.
In contrast, however the use of container-scans and electronic equipment in Europe and America by far outweighs’ what we do here in Sint Maarten, we make use of all the available man power and equipment. Before 10-10-10 the Customs department had a staff of 8 persons, assisted by 5 technical assistance colleagues from the Netherlands, but due to the 1,5 year contracts and after many failed requests for extensions only an additional 8 months was granted. So the Dutch assistance ended in August 2011. The cost Sint Maarten for the period 10-10-10 to August 2011 exceeded Naf. 500.000, — which was paid by Sint Maarten to Holland!
The staff of the Customs Department has since been augmented with 11 new "Bavpolers". The current staffing is 21, which is the highest the Customs Department on Sint Maarten has ever been and in the coming months will hopefully add 16 more to the fleet of growing staff.
The article further continues to refer to comments of the Dutch MP Lucassen who stated that: "Even for Caribbean standards the Customs Department of Sint Maarten is a joke". The MP failed to identify the "Caribbean Standards" he was referring to, which again reeks of unsubstantiated noises with bad faith intentions. In addition the MP continued to state based on a recent crime view analysis by the Dutch National Police Service (KLPD), the US is "very worried" that a part of the smuggling goes via Sint Maarten’s harbors. Truth be told, this most recent crime view analysis was conducted since in 2009 / 2010 and is therefore not as recent as the MP indicates.
Furthermore, the Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Liesbeth Spies, in her address to the second chamber stated that; "the Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard was doing a good job in combating drug trafficking". In fact, the Coastguard functions under local authority and not independently, so the assumption that "the Customs department is not functioning properly or unable to fulfill its tasks" is nothing short of a bogus, outrageous claim and another attempt to cast a negative light on Sint Maarten and its development as a new Country. The Minister further states that "the plan of approach for justice was not progressing as it should", which leads me to ask the following question: why? Could it possibly be partly due to a sabotage of Naf 1.2 million in project funding by a Dutch Civil Servant employed by the same Minister?
In closing and for the record, Sint Maarten is most certainly not a "True Smuggling Paradise", and that the Dutch MP and a Minister would spout such nonsense is regrettable, as they failed to provide any facts whatsoever to substantiate their wild allegations.