Against a backdrop of shifting transnational smuggling trends, Barbados’ Customs service has announced a series of major interdictions at the island nation’s ports of entry, while publicly laying out the multiple operational, financial and reputational challenges the department currently faces. The disclosure came from Acting Comptroller Lynette Padmore during an address Sunday marking the 121st anniversary of the Barbados Customs and Excise Department, delivered at the Power in the Blood Assembly church in Tudor Bridge, St. Michael.
Padmore detailed that customs officers posted at air ports, sea ports and the national General Post Office had seized 12 unauthorised firearms, approximately 900 rounds of ammunition, and nearly 1,000 kilograms of illicit plant material. That plant shipment alone carries an estimated street value of around $8 million. Beyond these hauls, teams also intercepted cocaine, methamphetamines, prohibited tactical equipment including camouflage gear and tasers, and unauthorised drones, expanding the scope of evolving threats the border agency must counter.
In her remarks, Padmore warned that criminal smuggling networks are exploiting every potential entry point to move illegal cargo through Barbados’ borders, arguing that fragmented, agency-specific approaches to border security leave the nation vulnerable. “Most territories now face similar challenges, and Barbados will remain exposed to these evolving threats if every agency operates with a singular mentality,” she said. “The level of awareness relevant to some synthetic drugs and the porosity of our borders will continue to be problematic should we not collectively reinforce our intention towards the protection of our borders.”
To address this gap, Padmore confirmed that Barbados Customs is already engaged in coordinated targeted operations alongside local, regional and international law enforcement partners to tighten border controls, disrupt smuggling rings and investigate financial fraud. She highlighted the department’s participation in two key ongoing initiatives, Operation Calypso and Operation Core 8 in 2025, noting that these collaborative efforts have already delivered measurable progress in halting narcotics trafficking, countering financial crime, disrupting human trafficking and shutting down other transnational illegal activities. “Interagency cooperation through planned operations benefit from collaboration and the employment of various measures to assist with interdictions,” she added.
Beyond border security, Padmore also released new revenue data for the department, showing that between the 2023 financial year and July 2026, Customs collected a total of $5.47 billion in government revenue. However, she noted that total potential revenue was reduced by more than $3 billion due to a combination of statutory concessions and waivers granted to the local business community, as well as fraudulent tax evasion tactics including importer undervaluation of goods and under-invoicing. “This figure could have been higher were it not affected by the loss of over $3 billion in revenue which has been foregone through concessions and waivers to the business community or from the fraudulent tax evasion practices of undervaluation and under-invoicing which continues to threaten the financial systems and mutual trust between Customs and some of our stakeholders,” Padmore explained.
The department is also grappling with an institutional knowledge gap following the retirement of a large cohort of veteran staff, leaving a workforce heavy with new recruits still building core job skills. “We now have quite a few relatively new staff who are now learning the fundamentals of Customs. Training is therefore essential at this juncture, and we are meeting it head on,” Padmore said. To address this, 18 officers are set to begin an intensive valuation training workshop run in partnership with the Caribbean Regional Technical Assistance Centre, while the entire department will take part in the National Transformation Initiative’s Art and Heart of Service culture shift programme. All officers have already completed expanded training covering a range of high-priority topics: small arms and light weapons identification, illicit trafficking modus operandi, detection of illicit firearms produced via 3D printing, specialised marine enforcement, synthetic drug detection, artificial intelligence for cybersecurity, and data analytics.
Padmore added that the department is also pursuing broader digital modernisation, with its in-house information technology team working to integrate artificial intelligence and smart automation systems to boost operational efficiency and effectiveness. Even as it advances these improvements, the department is facing ongoing public criticism over its performance, and Padmore acknowledged that rebuilding public trust will require deliberate systemic change. “We are aware that recent times have caused this department to be constantly criticised and to be the subject of unfavourable responses which must now be adjusted,” she said.
Outlining the full scope of current challenges, Padmore cited limited operational resources, persistent revenue leakage, widespread undervaluation of imported goods, and growing national security risks from narcotics, illegal firearms, and human trafficking. Despite these headwinds, she closed with a confident pledge that the department would work collectively to turn its performance around and rebuild public confidence. “We are all equal, and together we can restore our image, renew our efforts, and seek to change our current direction,” she said. “Our core values of professionalism, integrity, accountability and transparency must guide our approach to our daily tasks, and like a phoenix, we will rise again.”