Customs officer gets cleared in probe

A Cayman Islands customs officer who has been on suspension since September 2010 recently resumed his duties with the force, according to Collector Carlon Powery.  

“The Customs Department can confirm that officer Bruce Powery has resumed his duties and no charges will be forthcoming,” Collector Powery confirmed in an email sent earlier this month.  

Bruce Powery was placed on leave while local and United Kingdom authorities investigated the drug export case.  

The allegations against Bruce Powery relate to an incident at a UK airport in 2010 where three men were arrested on suspicion of cocaine possession, Collector Carlon Powery said.  

The three men were all believed to be from the Cayman Islands, although UK authorities have released no information on the case and attempts to contact the relevant agencies in England about the investigation have proved fruitless.  

Mr. Powery was one of several customs officers placed on leave in connection with various investigations under way at the service.  

The personnel shake up has already led to the dismissal of two customs officers and the resignation of a third in December.  

In addition, four customs officers remain on required leave – essentially paid suspension – due to unspecified investigations, Collector Powery said.  

At least one suspended customs officer has been charged with a crime and is now before the court. David Karl Lobo is accused of being “concerned in the exportation of more than two pounds of cocaine”.  

Magistrate Hall said the allegations against Lobo were serious, not only because of the amount of drugs involved, but because Lobo was alleged to have committed the offence during the execution of his duties. The charge against Lobo arises from an incident at Owen Roberts International Airport in Grand Cayman in September 2010.  

HM Customs managers have connected the arrest of Lobo to the investigation which led to the suspension of customs officer Bruce Powery, but have not said precisely how the two related to one another.  

“As investigations are continuing, we are unable to comment further at this time,” Collector Powery said, adding that he could not state why the two customs officers had been fired in December. Other sources, who did not want to be identified, indicated allegations against those officers involved evasion of duty.  

New scanner arrives 

HM Customs received the first shipment of several large port scanners last week; the devices are designed to increase and improve the number and quality of cargo scans done on items imported to and exported from Cayman.  

The large port scanner is mobile and can be set up at different locations to scan cargo carried by trucks, containers, cars and even boats. Some smaller devices used to scan cargo are still being imported, Assistant Customs Collector Jeff Jackson said.  

“[The non-intrusive inspection system] dramatically upgrades our … organisation’s capabilities to identify suspect goods like weapons, drugs and other types of contraband quickly, accurately and reliably in unopened loads,” Mr. Jackson said.  

Currently, the customs service is performing most of its inspections manually and requires most imported goods to be held in bonded warehouses prior to release. Once the new systems are in place, Mr. Jackson said HM Customs hopes processing of goods through Cayman’s ports will be done more quickly.  

“Some initial delays may occur until operators become completely familiar with the new system,” he said. “[However], we anticipate a much quicker process of goods being released once all customs requirements are met.”