LONDON: A senior British diplomat in Jamaica provoked a furore the other day by claiming that more than one in 10 passengers flying to Britain from the island were smuggling cocaine.

The remarks of the deputy high commissioner, Phil Sinkinson, were challenged by UK customs and excise officers, who said there were no figures on the number of so-called drug mules to support what he was saying.

Officials at Air Jamaica, the main carrier between the two countries, were also skeptical.

But London’s Metropolitan Police force privately backed Sinkinson, saying there was “nothing unusual” about flights packed with so many smugglers.

The apparent rift underlines mounting police concern about the ease with which cocaine is brought into the UK. This is thought to be a factor in recent sharp increases in gun crime and shootings in London’s black communities.

Drug smuggling from Jamaica is thought to account for half of the cocaine on the streets of Britain.

The Metropolitan Police believes that customs and excise, which takes the lead in smuggling issues, does not have the resources to tackle the problem on its own.

In his remarks, Sinkinson said 10 per cent of passengers were couriers and that each flight from Jamaica to London was probably carrying a total of 30kg (66lb) of cocaine hidden in plastic bags swallowed by the smugglers.

“It’s very difficult to estimate exactly how many passengers on any flight have got cocaine hidden inside them but that’s probably an estimate on the low side,” he said. “There’s certainly a fair number and each one can be carrying half a kilogramme. If you had 60 people on board the flight, there would be 30 kgs of cocaine going through.”

Sinkinson said that “pretty desperate poverty” was the motivation for many couriers, who were single mothers.

“It’s very important for them to be able to get hold of a fast buck to look after the family. If you consider you have a British Airways flight and an Air Jamaica flight going out every day, more or less, you need tremendous resources to screen every passenger.”

Sinkinson referred to two seizures last month, at Gatwick and Heathrow, in which more than 40 people were arrested as they disembarked. Drugs worth 360,000 dollars were seized.

Customs and excise, however, expressed surprise at Sinkinson’s claims. “We do not have any figures at the moment that reflect that situation,” said a spokesman.

“We do not know where he got them from. It would not be accurate to say that many people are coming through every time. Using drugs mules is only a very small part of the smuggling problem.”

The London police force, which has officers based in Jamaica helping to target smugglers and dealers, took a different tack. “One in ten is a proportion we would agree with,” said a source.

Air Jamaica said it was unfair to blame the airline for the smuggling. “We have strict security measures and we work closely with the police in the UK and Jamaica, but it is extremely difficult to identify people who have ingested drugs.” —Dawn/The Guardian News Service.