Jamaican security forces locked down the country's main container port, following a cocaine seizure estimated at more than CI $5 million.

Officers from the Jamaica Constabulary Force, the Jamaica Customs Agency and other agencies were involved in the anti-narcotics operation at Kingston Freeport Terminal. The probe also spread beyond the capital, with premises in St Thomas and other areas searched as investigators continued to trace container movements and possible links to the case.

Sources close to the investigation said at least eight KFTL employees were handcuffed and detained on Friday and that their personal vehicles were searched. One other employee was understood to have been detained on Thursday after investigators began examining the movement of a container that had been under surveillance at the facility.

By Friday evening, the staff car park remained closed, and employees were reportedly prevented from moving freely around the facility. One staff member, who asked not to be named, said workers were also barred from using their cellular phones while the operation continued. Roads leading into and out of the port were under heavy security as the investigation remained active.

KFTL also handles cargo for Jamaican industries, with more than 1,000 full containers delivered each week.

Investigators had reportedly been monitoring the movement of containers through the port before the cocaine was discovered.

On Friday, Customs and police personnel also intercepted another container or trailer being moved from the port and began examining its contents. The driver was detained, according to sources close to the case.

In a statement on Friday night, the Jamaica Constabulary Force confirmed the operation and said it followed investigations into the cocaine seizure earlier last week.

The case came during a record year for cocaine seizures in Jamaica, adding pressure on authorities to explain how the shipment passed through a major port terminal. In June, the Firearms and Narcotics Investigation Division (FNID) said more than 5,100 kilogrammes of cocaine, valued at nearly CI$16 million, had been seized in the first six months of 2026. That figure had already surpassed the combined seizures of the previous six years and more than doubled the previous annual record set in 2024.

Commenting on those seizure figures at the time, FNID Director Superintendent Patrae Rowe said the results reflected the impact of sustained enforcement efforts.

He said: "Removing more than 5,000 kilogrammes of cocaine from the illicit market in less than six months is a significant achievement for our investigators and border security partners. This $3 billion [CI $15.6 million collective] seizure directly impacts the financial infrastructure of criminal syndicates and helps prevent the violence they cause from reaching our streets. We will continue to vigorously pursue and dismantle these networks."

Financial Investigations Division Principal Director of Financial Crimes Investigations Keith Darien has previously highlighted the importance of coordinated enforcement at the country's ports.

He said: "This matter demonstrates the importance of vigilance at Jamaica's ports of entry and the continued collaboration among agencies involved in detecting and investigating suspected financial crime, including our strategic partners at the Jamaica Customs Agency."

The trade also has implications for the Cayman Islands, where authorities have repeatedly identified maritime drug trafficking from Jamaica as a significant enforcement challenge. The relatively short sea crossing between the two countries has long been used by smugglers moving drugs and other contraband aboard small vessels, making interdiction efforts in Jamaica part of a broader regional effort to disrupt the networks operating across the western Caribbean.