BVI: Is obeah what have all you so!

This is one for the books. Everybody else is smuggling drugs; this woman is smuggling obeah.

On February 5, customs officers in the arrival lounge of the Terrance B. Lettsome (TBL) International Airport, Beef Island decided to detain a woman and search her baggage after they observed her acting strangely. She had arrived on a Leeward Islands Air Transport (LIAT) flight which came from St. Maarten.

The search revealed that the woman was carrying a miniature wooden coffin concealed in a cardboard box, which was covered in a thick towel wrapping and hidden in her suitcase. Inside the coffin was a red rag doll pierced in the centre with a two-inch needle.

In addition, since there was no entry on the customs declaration form she filled out, the officials viewed it as a deliberate attempt to smuggle prohibited items into the BVI. Consequently, the customs officers immediately seized the items and interrogated the passenger at length. Mr. Smith stressed that, since the practice of 'obeah' is illegal in the BVI, the Customs Department will ensure the investigation is completed and, if necessary, formal charges instituted against those involved in the recent incident.

Chapter 52 of the Obeah Act of 1991 (Revised) specifically makes provisions for law enforcement authorities to "arrest without warrant" any person practicing obeah or reasonably suspected to be doing so.