Police Move to Harden Territory Against Cartels
Interim Acting Police Commissioner Richard Ullger says the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force will intensify intelligence, border cooperation and internal enforcement to prevent transnational organised crime from using the BVI as a transhipment route. He warned the territory cannot be complacent given regional trafficking patterns and called for sustained community support and inter-agency partnerships.
Interim Acting Police Commissioner Richard Ullger has warned that the British Virgin Islands must be strengthened against organised crime networks seeking to exploit small island jurisdictions. Speaking on the Talking Points show, Ullger said the territory faces heightened risk as cartels look for vulnerable points along routes from South America to markets in the United States. "Whether we like it or not, we're a part of the passage to get high-end drugs... from South America into the market, which is into the US.
It's very big business for the cartels and they will look at the vulnerabilities of the different islands on routes and, unfortunately, we are there but we need to harden the landscape," he said. Ullger outlined a multi-pronged approach focused on improving intelligence-gathering, strengthening border collaboration and tightening internal enforcement mechanisms.
He said these measures are intended to make the BVI less attractive to organised criminal groups and reduce opportunities for transhipment and other illicit activity. The territory has faced increased scrutiny in recent years over drug trafficking routes through the Caribbean. Law enforcement agencies point to the BVI's proximity to the United States Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico as factors that can increase vulnerability to narcotics transhipment, and Ullger said the force must adapt to shifting criminal tactics.
Hardening the territory, he added, requires more than reactive policing. Sustained intelligence work, faster information-sharing with regional and international partners, and closer inter-agency cooperation are key elements of the plan. Ullger also emphasised efforts to disrupt supply chains and to strengthen border controls and maritime monitoring.
Community involvement is central to the strategy, the Interim Commissioner said. He urged residents to remain vigilant, report suspicious activity, and support policing efforts so organised crime cannot take root. Public awareness campaigns and partnerships with civil society will complement operational work on the ground, he noted.
While details on specific new resources or operations were not disclosed, Ullger made clear that proactive steps are needed now to prevent deeper cartel entrenchment. For residents, the message was straightforward: law enforcement is stepping up, but community cooperation will be crucial to protecting public safety and the territory's reputation.
The RVPF plans to continue coordinating with regional counterparts and to refine tactics as criminal networks evolve, with the aim of keeping the Virgin Islands off the routes favoured by transnational organised crime.
Primary source: BVI News