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Local postmen have been delivering both letters and justice in the local community, having helped Customs officers seize nearly 600 packages containing drugs worth around £760,000 in the past four years.
2018 is set to be a record year in terms of the value of drugs plucked from postal packets, with such seizures totalling £306,582 so far.
The figures were released following a request made under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Law. It showed that in 2014, the total value of drugs seizures was of £132,494. The value then dropped significantly in 2017, with a total of £54,163, but has this year skyrocketed again.
Pictured: The number of postal drugs seizures has dropped since 2014.
David McGrath, Head of Marketing at Jersey Post, said that the company works hand-in-hand with Customs and has a robust system in place. “The close working relationship has helped lower the number of seizures," he said, adding that postmen are an important part of the process.
“Our postal operatives do not receive specific training relating to drugs and drug detection however as part of their training they are taught to identify suspicious activity and suspicious parcels and report this activity to management and customs authorities."
One such postal seizure was highlighted in the Royal Court earlier this year.
Pictured: Jersey Post works hand-in-hand with Customs Officers, the company said.
A 17-year-old had ordered 304 ecstasy tablets off the dark web, as well as 50 grams of MDMA on two separate occasions. He had the tablets delivered at the Mayfair Hotel, telling the hotel he would be having a meeting on the day of the delivery. He narrowly avoided a custodial sentence and was sentenced to 384 hours of community service – the equivalent to two-and-a-half years in prison.
In addition to the 593 postal drugs seizures, Customs Officers have also made another 272 seizures, of a total value of just over £11 million. So far this year, there have been 64 seizures in total, worth £1,445,687.
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