Ja: Drug dealers pay cops more than gov't

In an impassioned plea, Gilbert Scott, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of National Security, has implored Caribbean policemen to rely on their integrity in the fight against illicit drug-trafficking, as no government could pay them what drug dealers could offer them.

"You need to be mindful that you become a valuable potential resource to the perpetrators of this trade," Scott said in his address Friday to cops graduating from the Caribbean Regional Drug Law Enforcement Training Centre at Twickenham Park, St Catherine.

"You must therefore rely on your integrity, your professionalism and your loyalty to your country because no government in this region will be able to pay you at a level commensurate with offers that you are likely to receive. We cannot buy your loyalty," he said.

Scott argued that the Caribbean Single Market and Economy, which is slated to come into effect for Jamaica in December of this year, could see exploitation of the free movement provision by drug traffickers.

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