Standing in front of her team of senior officers on Monday, acting Police Commissioner Jacqueline Vanterpool defended her force’s actions during a recent cocaine seizure that resulted in the brief hospitalisation of multiple officers.
On the night of June 17 and the early hours of June 18, Virgin Islands law enforcers worked with the Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard out of St. Maarten to interdict a vessel carrying the drugs across VI waters, Ms. Vanterpool said during a press conference.
During the inter-agency operation, more than 1,400 kilograms of cocaine were discovered on the rocky coastline near Virgin Gorda’s Oil Nut Bay, scattered among the wreckage of a speedboat that had come from the vicinity of St. Maarten, she said.
Along with the seizure of the drugs — most of which were burned onsite — seven people were arrested, according to the commissioner.
“There’s no evidence to suggest they were coming here, but they ended up here after being chased,” she said Monday. “And as a result of encountering the difficult, rough waters is how they ended up on the rocks there.”
Of the seven people taken into custody, Ms. Vanterpool said, four were charged.
“The nationals who were charged were all Spanish-speaking nationals from Dominican Republic,” Ms. Vanterpool added.
The commissioner said police couldn’t yet say how many people were on the vessel at the time of the crash.
Pursuit
Before the boat reached VI waters, the chase began with two suspect vessels spotted, according to United States Customs and Border Protection.
“On June 17, a French Customs Multirole Enforcement Aircraft detected a suspect vessel heading north, while a Dutch Maritime Patrol Aircraft located another vessel with multiple bales of contraband visible on deck,” the CBP stated in a June 25 press release. “The Dutch MPA maintained surveillance of the vessel until it needed to refuel.”
The US CBP’s Air and Marine Operations then launched a Blackhawk helicopter and another aircraft to find the vessel again, coordinating with its marine unit in St. Thomas and the Royal VI Police Force, the agency stated.
One vessel was intercepted and three people were detained, but the US aircrafts returned to base without re-locating the boat containing the narcotics.
“On June 18, 2025, BVI law enforcement returned to the area, discovering debris of a vessel which hit a reef and sank near Pajaros Point, Virgin Gorda,” the CBP stated. “A BVI Search and Rescue unit reported rescuing three people from the water the previous night, and one subject was clinging to a bale in the water.”
In total, 15 men of “various nationalities” were detained in the cross-border operation, according to the CBP.
The drug burn
On Monday, Ms. Vanterpool also provided more details about why VI officers burned most of the drugs onsite.
“That search was one of the most difficult searches for our dedicated officers in that morning,” Ms. Vanterpool said. “The terrain was very, very difficult to climb; [the cocaine] was very heavy. And because of the waters, the cocaine settled in the rocks, making it very difficult for us to even get to the cocaine.”
According to Ms. Vanterpool, officers in charge of the operation sought legal guidance on what to do next.
“My commanders then made contact with legal experts,” she said. “Their advice was sought as to what was the next step.”
Because of the difficulty involved with transporting the cocaine up the steep mountain, the decision was made to burn the narcotics onsite, she said.
Ms. Vanterpool didn’t identify the legal advisors in question, but a June 23 RVIPF press release claimed that the decision “was taken in consultation with the Office of the Governor and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.”
Ms. Vanterpool also said Monday that most of the officers’ injuries were sustained during the climb down to sea level, but she acknowledged that multiple officers were also beset with respiratory problems after breathing in the noxious smoke from the burning drugs.
“As a result of the cocaine being burned, a number of our officers suffered respiratory challenges in breathing,” she said. “But we are thankful that we were able to receive medical treatment from staff at Oil Nut Bay, and then they got the green light to proceed [back] up the hill.”
Though she said officers who inhaled the fumes were masked, she didn’t know the type of mask used.
“I know they were wearing masks,” Ms. Vanterpool said in response to a question from the Beacon. “Whether it was an N-95 or something else, I’m not sure.”
Ms. Vanterpool did not say how many officers were injured.
Additionally, the acting police commissioner provided new details about civilians who witnessed the drug burn.
Asked about the civilians, who were first mentioned in the June 23 press release, she said they were people “affiliated with Oil Nut Bay” who reported the wreckage and subsequently remained onsite throughout the duration of the cocaine’s destruction.
One of them, she said, was a doctor on vacation at Oil Nut Bay who assisted officers affected by the smoke.
ONB commended
“We commend Oil Nut Bay for the extra hand that they gave us in terms of on-the-ground assistance,” Ms. Vanterpool said. “It was not really external, but people who were on the ground within the safety of Oil Nut Bay.”
