A large-scale illegal cannabis growing operation has been dismantled by joint law enforcement agencies in Antigua and Barbuda, resulting in four arrests and one of the biggest drug seizures in the region in recent months. The bust unfolded early Thursday morning just outside the rural community of Pares Village, where investigators uncovered a sprawling unlicensed plantation hidden from public view.
When the raid concluded shortly after 10 a.m., authorities had confiscated over 500 growing cannabis plants and nearly 1,000 pounds of processed, cured marijuana — a haul that far outstrips the legal limits permitted under the nation’s current drug laws. Assistant Superintendent of Police Frankie Thomas, the lead official on the operation, confirmed that the investigation deliberately targeted unlicensed producers operating outside the regulatory framework that governs legal medicinal and sacramental cannabis cultivation in the country.
Antigua and Barbuda updated its drug policy in recent years to allow limited personal cultivation and possession of cannabis for qualified uses, but the operation uncovered this week operated on a commercial scale that has no legal standing, Thomas emphasized. The multi-agency task force that carried out the raid included officers from the national police force, Customs, Immigration and several specialized law enforcement units, reflecting the seriousness of the crackdown on illegal drug operations in the area.
Following the completion of formal investigative proceedings, all seized cannabis products will be destroyed in accordance with national law enforcement protocols. Thomas noted that criminal charges will be filed against the four detained men where evidence supports prosecution, and he reaffirmed the full commitment of Antigua and Barbuda’s law enforcement community to rooting out illegal drug operations from local communities and safeguarding the welfare and public safety of all residents.