What goes into B.D.F. drug eradication operations?
Lt. Col. Ganey Dortch
Before the groundwork was completed, the operation began with a flyover and reconnaissance by the B.D.F.’s Defender. The man at the helm, Lieutenant Colonel Ganey Dortch, said that it was a team effort by various departments in the B.D.F. that led not only to today’s success but to the one hundred and fifty thousand plants that have been destroyed since the beginning of 2010.
Lt. Col. Ganey Dortch, Chief of Staff, B.D.F.
“The air wing would initially conduct an aerial reconnaissance, which we did to identify the field after which we brought in the ground troops and the intelligence department to actually confirm that yes, it was indeed a marijuana plantation. After that an official order was made and we gave orders for that field to have been destroyed. And again, I must emphasize in the presence of the police who are the legal persons responsible for the destruction of the marijuana plantation. Whenever we conduct such an operation, it simply means that we have to lift the level of threat and we have to ensure that we have a backup plan, which means the employment of more human resources. Apart from that, it also entails using other resources such as vehicles, feeding etcetera.”
Jose Sanchez
“How much resources goes into an operation such as the one we saw today?”
Lt. Col. Ganey Dortch
“To rightfully place it and to put it from a military standpoint, when it comes to the human resources, it does not necessarily mean that we spend more per say; it means that we have to divert our focus from one area and now to drug eradication. For example, from maybe doing camp duties or doing other relevant stuff as it pertains to our mandate, it means now that we have to focus our attention now on drug eradication.”
Jose Sanchez
“The operation itself that you carry out on a yearly basis, does it just put a little dent or does it seriously impact the availability of marijuana on the streets?”
Lt. Col. Ganey Dortch
“It does have an impact on the availability of marijuana on the streets. I would just like to bring to your attention that in 2008 we destroyed only seventeen thousand plants of marijuana. In 2009 we were fortunate to increase to just over thirty thousand and up until today we have destroyed just over one hundred and fifty thousand plants which shows that our efforts, because of the recent increase in drug problems that we have been facing in the streets of Belize City, we have increased our effort in this anti narcotic operation.”
In case you were wondering how much marijuana went up in smoke, the soldiers at the scene said they were valued over fifteen thousand dollars.
