Indonesian Drone Detects Cocaine Smuggling In Haiti

A surveillance drone used by Indonesia's UN Peacekeepers has spotted a cocaine trafficking racket in wartorn Haiti.

Indonesian peacekeepers have discovered cocaine circulation in the Anbouchi coastal village of Morency, South Department, Haiti. "It was a far coastal area, with poor road access and steep hills," Indonesian contingents Commander of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti Adjunct Senior Commissioner Dian Nugraha said Saturday.

"We used a drone to help monitor the target due to its inaccessible location," Nugraha was quoted as saying by Antara News.

The Indonesian polices peace team assisted the Individual Police Officer (IPO), led by Deputy Police Commissioner Des Cayes, Dumont, during a raid on a cocaine network on Thursday (Aug 17).

The team was part of the Brigade de Lutte Contre le Trafic de Stupefiants, the Haitian National Polices anti-trafficking special forces.

The raid also involved two local prosecutors and three United Nations Police officials comprising two Indonesian IPOs who served as drone operators to map out the area in which the cocaine was kept.

After the drone oversaw the activities of the local community and ensured the situation was conducive, the joint international officer conducted a search in 15 homes and unearthed 24.5 pounds, or 11.136 kilograms, of cocaine.

In addition to Haiti, the Indonesian National Police has deployed its peacekeeper teams in several conflict-prone countries, such as Cambodia and Sudan.