June 12th, 2008
Customs Raid In GB
By Courtnee Romer


FREEPORT, Grand Bahama – Customs and police officers hauled away a large shipment of goods they said were not duty-paid from three units in Richmaur Apartments on Coral Lane Tuesday afternoon.

When the Bahama Journal arrived on the scene shortly after 5pm, customs officers were placing the goods onto a flatbed truck.

The goods included several coolers of meats, cases of drinks, snacks, fishing gear, bags of charcoal, several flat screen television sets, electronic equipment, golf clubs, and a sofa.

The Journal also witnessed several occupants of the raided apartments standing nearby looking at the items as they were being carted away.

Senior Customs Officer Jasmine Hudson said authorities received an anonymous tip shortly before the raid.

"Based on information received at about 3:30pm…we were able to proceed to this location and find that there were some goods being offloaded into three apartment buildings here and upon further investigation we found that the goods were not duty-paid goods," Ms. Hudson said. "The vessel came in, offloaded and then proceeded to be cleared afterwards."

She said authorities had someone in for questioning in connection with this incident.

Ms. Hudson said she did not know what the value of the goods were as officials were still conducting their investigation.

She said the goods have been confiscated pending a decision from the deputy comptroller of customs.

Ms. Hudson said her department works closely with the police on incidents of this nature.

She said this is not the first time authorities have conducted a raid like this and it certainly won’t be the last.

Good. When you cheat the government you cheat us all.

Good. When you cheat the government you cheat us all.
Amen!:bouncy:

June 12th, 2008
Customs Raid In GB
By Courtnee Romer
FREEPORT, Grand Bahama – Customs and police officers hauled away a large shipment of goods they said were not duty-paid from three units in Richmaur Apartments on Coral Lane Tuesday afternoon.
When the Bahama Journal arrived on the scene shortly after 5pm, customs officers were placing the goods onto a flatbed truck.
The goods included several coolers of meats, cases of drinks, snacks, fishing gear, bags of charcoal, several flat screen television sets, electronic equipment, golf clubs, and a sofa.
The Journal also witnessed several occupants of the raided apartments standing nearby looking at the items as they were being carted away.
Senior Customs Officer Jasmine Hudson said authorities received an anonymous tip shortly before the raid.
"Based on information received at about 3:30pm…we were able to proceed to this location and find that there were some goods being offloaded into three apartment buildings here and upon further investigation we found that the goods were not duty-paid goods," Ms. Hudson said. "The vessel came in, offloaded and then proceeded to be cleared afterwards."
She said authorities had someone in for questioning in connection with this incident.
Ms. Hudson said she did not know what the value of the goods were as officials were still conducting their investigation.
She said the goods have been confiscated pending a decision from the deputy comptroller of customs.
Ms. Hudson said her department works closely with the police on incidents of this nature.
She said this is not the first time authorities have conducted a raid like this and it certainly won’t be the last.


You would be surprised on how many people getting away with this.

June 12th, 2008
Customs Raid In GB
By Courtnee Romer
FREEPORT, Grand Bahama – Customs and police officers hauled away a large shipment of goods they said were not duty-paid from three units in Richmaur Apartments on Coral Lane Tuesday afternoon.
When the Bahama Journal arrived on the scene shortly after 5pm, customs officers were placing the goods onto a flatbed truck.
The goods included several coolers of meats, cases of drinks, snacks, fishing gear, bags of charcoal, several flat screen television sets, electronic equipment, golf clubs, and a sofa.
The Journal also witnessed several occupants of the raided apartments standing nearby looking at the items as they were being carted away.
Senior Customs Officer Jasmine Hudson said authorities received an anonymous tip shortly before the raid.
"Based on information received at about 3:30pm…we were able to proceed to this location and find that there were some goods being offloaded into three apartment buildings here and upon further investigation we found that the goods were not duty-paid goods," Ms. Hudson said. "The vessel came in, offloaded and then proceeded to be cleared afterwards."
She said authorities had someone in for questioning in connection with this incident.
Ms. Hudson said she did not know what the value of the goods were as officials were still conducting their investigation.
She said the goods have been confiscated pending a decision from the deputy comptroller of customs.
Ms. Hudson said her department works closely with the police on incidents of this nature.
She said this is not the first time authorities have conducted a raid like this and it certainly won’t be the last.

Some heads at customs need to roll. If citizens can slip through with that amount of goods and not detected....shame on customs..

Some heads at customs need to roll. If citizens can slip through with that amount of goods and not detected....shame on customs..
I was juss gon ask how dey bring dat it???

If you own a boat can you bring it on board from Miami? Who checks these boats that travel through international waters?

I was juss gon ask how dey bring dat it???
If you own a boat can you bring it on board from Miami? Who checks these boats that travel through international waters?

Customs is supposed to check on inbound vessels. The problem is how the inbound vessel is reported. Customs don't check radar for inbound boats but rely on people to report that they have arrived. Pleasure boats don't need agents, etc.

Same thing happens (for pleasure boats) on the US side. Enter, tie up and call Customs. If its a weekend, you can go see them the next working day.

June 12th, 2008
Customs Raid In GB
By Courtnee Romer
FREEPORT, Grand Bahama – Customs and police officers hauled away a large shipment of goods they said were not duty-paid from three units in Richmaur Apartments on Coral Lane Tuesday afternoon.
When the Bahama Journal arrived on the scene shortly after 5pm, customs officers were placing the goods onto a flatbed truck.
The goods included several coolers of meats, cases of drinks, snacks, fishing gear, bags of charcoal, several flat screen television sets, electronic equipment, golf clubs, and a sofa.
The Journal also witnessed several occupants of the raided apartments standing nearby looking at the items as they were being carted away.
Senior Customs Officer Jasmine Hudson said authorities received an anonymous tip shortly before the raid.
"Based on information received at about 3:30pm…we were able to proceed to this location and find that there were some goods being offloaded into three apartment buildings here and upon further investigation we found that the goods were not duty-paid goods," Ms. Hudson said. "The vessel came in, offloaded and then proceeded to be cleared afterwards."
She said authorities had someone in for questioning in connection with this incident.
Ms. Hudson said she did not know what the value of the goods were as officials were still conducting their investigation.
She said the goods have been confiscated pending a decision from the deputy comptroller of customs.
Ms. Hudson said her department works closely with the police on incidents of this nature.
She said this is not the first time authorities have conducted a raid like this and it certainly won’t be the last.

This has been going on for as long as most people alive can remember! Arrive late at night, offload at a dock "outside of town" and go to Customs next morning! Not just Bahamians either! Houses get finished and furnished like this!! Another trick is to send goods in on the freight boat as "used goods". When they finished busting people on GB, they need to try it on other Bahamian islands!!!! If customs collected duty on everything like they should, our country would be in a far better economic position! An entire ministry's budget is smuggled thru Nassau airport alone each year!! Many Bahamians don't even understand the system. They think paying duty is optional! One woman was bragging recently about how much she shipped over from Florida and she was surprised at how little duty Officer XYZ charged her! The goods were to upgrade her business and for resale! I told her that there is a set rate of duty on items and its not "up to" the customs officer to decide on a fair amount! They are breaking the law! But this is the kind of thing that goes on daily in this country! And these same people will criticize the govt. for not doing more! Makes me soooo angry! Bahamians can often be their own worst enemy!

Maybe we need cctv cameras at all the marinas and the canals in Freeport especially that can be monitored around the clock.This is also a national security matter. Sir Roland was right!