Cayman Islands Customs Department Press Release

14th May 2018

The Collector of Customs Charles Clifford has announced the arrest of a female Customs Officer and a Cayman Airways employee on suspicion of Conspiracy to Import Ganja into the Cayman Islands and other related offences.

The Collector said that the arrest followed a joint Customs and RCIPS investigation. Mr. Clifford thanked the police for their invaluable assistance with this matter and said “This is yet another manifestation of the value of joint Customs, Police and Immigration operations.”

The Collector said that it is important for him to assure Customs staff and the public that there is absolutely no place in the Customs Department for any officer who is engaged in criminal activity. He said “While the presumption of innocence must apply in all cases, I have said before and it is appropriate that I say again, I will not allow the integrity of our hard working and dedicated customs officers and staff to be brought into question because of unchecked criminal conduct by any corrupt officer.” Mr. Clifford continued “Investigations such as this one must be prioritized in all primary law enforcement agencies for obvious reasons; any officer who is engaged in criminal activity is clearly a serious threat to the national security of our country.”

In commenting on the arrest of the Customs officer, Deputy Collector of Customs Jeff Jackson, who has responsibility for the Customs Border Protection Portfolio, said, “We will aggressively investigate allegations of criminal acts and administrative misconduct by any of our staff in order to preserve the honour and integrity of the Customs Department.”

The investigation is progressing.