Q: How did you first get involved with BAN?

A: I first got involved in November 2004, when I saw a visiting dignitary, Imam Ya Ya Abdullah, from Texas, speak at the Hamilton Princess. In his speech, he talked about how he had dealt with a drug problem that they had in Texas. So he threw a challenge out to the men in the audience, because he had found out there was a drugs problem here, to duplicate his efforts in Texas.

We responded by having a meeting, including Christians and Muslims, on how we'd deal with the island's drugs problem. I wasn't part of the original meeting, because I was at Johns Hopkins Hospital, having open heart surgery. They formed Concerned Bermudians Against Narcotics. By April, I felt better and I got involved.

Q: You seem very passionate about the subject of drugs.

A: Very passionate, because it's something that affects every Bermudian and non-Bermudian on this island. I think the future direction and success of the island is hinged upon the eradication of narcotics dealing. We cannot survive with narcotics on the loose like they are now. There will always be some form of drug or stimulant that people use, but right now we have a loose cannon that's destroying the island.

I don't have a choice. My future's at stake, my children's future and my children's children's future.

This is now a war. I want to make that clear.

A war against the distribution, sale and use of narcotics.

Q: Since you've been involved with BAN, what have you learned about the drugs problem?

A: I've learned a lot about the gory side of drugs that I was not completely aware of. From 1963 to 1972 I was a policeman. At that time, I suppose marijuana was just making its debut in Bermuda. I call it the ballerina of drugs. The one that coaxes them into greater use of narcotics.

While I was on the Force, it wasn't really a problem. We were mostly dealing with drunks, having them walk the line and do the alcohol test. I didn't think then that drugs would ever be a problem in Bermuda.

But when I left the police, I noticed an increase in hard drugs. Heroin came in. Then I heard about cocaine, fraggle rock, ecstasy.

Q: So it was in the '70s and '80s that the drug problem really started to emerge?

A: Yes. I would say I was a child of the '60s and I became politically aware from the time of the civil rights struggle. Drugs weren't even on my mind. The '70s brought in the drugs. They came down from North America in a heavy way.

I was introduced to the American community for a specific purpose in places like New York and Los Angeles. Certain areas were targeted for the drugs trade by ? believe it or not ? the FBI director J.Edgar Hoover and the Mafia. That was to try and break up the civil rights struggle.

There was a lot of revolutionary activity and they wanted to break it up. They got a lot of revolutionaries involved in drugs and it devastated the cities and devastated the civil rights struggle, because people stopped thinking about the struggle and started thinking about making dollars.

Q: So you had contacts in American cities?

A: Yes. I knew exactly what was going on with the Black Panthers and I became a Muslim in the late '60s and it was all about the civil rights struggle. When the drugs came in, it fragmented it and it really was a plot.

Having said that, Bermudians love to travel and we love to copy ? the Americans, the Jamaicans ? and we brought the drug culture here ourselves. Nobody sat down and decided to start pushing drugs in Bermuda, we brought them here ourselves.

Now that we've brought it here ourselves, it's devastating our community ? nobody can say drugs have been a good thing. There are people who say drugs represent the new economy and it's bringing money into the community ? but at what cost? Even if you ask a pusher why he's doing it ? and I have done ? he'll tell you it's just for the money, fast money.

Q: Now that drugs are here, what can the Government, the police and the community do to eradicate the problem?

A: There is a rehabilitation centre in Baltimore called I Can't, We Can. That's a very fitting title. And we have links with that group. I believe that should be the theme for Bermuda.

I'm approaching this from a grass-roots level and we need to tackle it from top to bottom. From the churches to the social clubs to the sports world, drugs are getting everywhere. Drugs don't discriminate. In fact, drugs are about the only thing in this country that don't have a trace of racism in them.

Everybody's been affected in some way by drugs. Even cigarettes are a mild form of narcotic. They're addictive and many people start on them before moving on to other drugs.

These addictive narcotics are doing a lot of damage to the community. It's destroying the personalities of Bermudians, it's destroying tourism as well as doing harm to the island as a safe international business centre.

That's when people will really become concerned because it's affecting the economy.

The big businesses bring millions of dollars here and drugs need money. But once drugs start affecting the big corporations directly, then people will really start to notice.

Q: So would you like to see tougher anti-drugs legislation or the police getting tougher with drug offenders?

A: In the BAN document we spell out what we want. We want all guilty parties to suffer the full brunt of the law without parole. And we want to see all those who are convicted of serious drug-related crimes, like violence, importing or supplying, to be incarcerated outside of these islands.

The drugs problem is the number one threat to public safety.

Q: One complaint you have had with the Government is its failure to support mandatory drug testing for MPs. And since the Attorney General, Larry Mussenden, promised a couple of months ago to shut down 17 crack houses, you have expressed concern that nothing has actually been done. Has anything happened with regard to this?

A: Yes, we are aware that something has happened. I happen to know that they are now taking measures to bring the crack houses under control. There is movement and soon the public will see. We are encouraged by the Minister for Drug Control (Wayne Perinchief), who took a drug test himself, as well as Cultural Affairs Minister Dale Butler. And MP Dean Foggo promised during the rally we held in St. George's to take a test. So one by one, MPs are agreeing to lead by example. Those at the top need to set an example and this can filter down. We're not attacking any particular party or group, but we're saying that people like Customs officers and prison wardens need to be seen to be drug-free.

We said in our letter at formation that we would help the police and the Government in the war on drugs in whatever way we could. How can we best support Government? By ensuring that Government does what Government is paid to do.

We can help the Government and the police by bringing public sentiment to the forefront so they know how serious we are. We have assisted them by putting drugs on the front burner.

Q: What is the best way to tackle the drugs problem, in your view? From the demand or the supply end?

A: The supply end. It's easier to handle than the demand end. When we really come down on the supply end, people will be left with a need and a craving for drugs. If the supply is cut off, they will get more and more desperate. We want to support local rehabilitation centres and link them up with I Can't, We Can in Baltimore.

So we believe we should dry it up first and then we're going to have to carry out what we call the mop-up operation, taking care of the victims. We know who the dealers are and we are systematically going to do what it takes to get them. They know that. And so a lot of them are shifting their strategies on how they move stuff around and how they sell it.

Most of them have an escape hatch and they're trying to get out. That's difficult because they are attached to down line suppliers. If somebody drops a dime on them, then they'll be gone.

So I think they're trying to move their money because they're afraid we're going to collapse their empires and take all their money.

Q: Is BAN itself going to try to make these things happen, or with the help of the authorities?

A: We're going to sit with Neighbourhood Watch groups and encourage them to drop a dime on these people. Call the police and tell them if there's drug activity going on in your neighbourhood. Tell them who the people are and you can remain anonymous.

They are enemies of the community, so it's good to snitch on them.

Q: The police have often said that people are reluctant to come forward with information. Are you seeing that?

A: There is definitely a fear factor. We're rapidly removing it.We hold community meetings quite regularly. There are always people asking to meet with us. And we've got rallies planned for April and May.

A number of people signed BAN membership forms at our last rally (in St. George's last weekend) and many are telling us that they want to get active too.

Q: Has there been a growth in support for BAN?

Absolutely. There are little old ladies concerned about their neighbourhoods and fearful men who are overcoming their fear. There are people who want to put families back together, they want to get back that misfit of a son who's been terrorising the neighbourhood.

Mothers are bringing sons in their 30s, who are addicted, to talk us.

We tell them that they will end up in rehabilitation or prison eventually ? it's their choice. They tell us that they want to get off the stuff.

Addicts realise they are slaves to the pusher. The pusher is the new slavemaster in Bermuda, because he has no conscience. He doesn't want them to get off drugs, he'll give them something free to keep them hooked.

Q: What drugs are the biggest problems at the moment?

A: Heroin is on the up now, because apparently you don't need much of it to go a long way. But crack cocaine is still number one. Marijuana has always been a common drug.

I would like to see Government, police, Customs and prison officials form a coalition and stop passing the buck. To work together. They need to be co-ordinated, to declare drugs as the number one threat to the island and to view it from a global perspective. Work with overseas drug enforcement agencies.

I welcome the fact that we have a narcotics officer coming here from the UK. I think we need another one from somewhere south of us, like Jamaica.

I think our police service needs to be thoroughly investigated to ensure we have 'clean' officers.

Q: Why do you say that?

A: There have been many rumours that people in a position to do something about this problem have been turning their heads the other way, in the police, in Customs, in the prisons and in Government. We need a hard line approach.

They all get paid out of the public treasury and so we are their bosses. The bosses are telling their employees: Get on with the job.

I want my streets protected, I want my wife and children to be safe. We put them in power, we are paying their wages, we entrust you with our safety, so do what we ask of you.

Q: With your brother in the Cabinet, as Minister of Drug Control, does that cause any family friction?

A: He agrees totally with me and I agree totally with him. Our methods may differ. No doubt about it. Yes, we're looking at that. Yes. That is in the pipeline. Our application is being considered by the board. And we will be approaching the corporate community. They stand to benefit, like everyone else, from a safer environment.

You only need to look at what happened to Harlem in the '60s and '70s. You only have to look at Trench Town and Spanish Town in Jamaica. Look at Nassau and Barbados, places that had a drug problem before we did. We could be exactly the same. This is very serious.

Drugs have serious repercussions, socially, spiritually and morally. This can fragment a society and that is when it can start break apart.

Q: Can we win the war?

A: Sure, we can win. There are more of us than them. The power of public opinion is against the drug pushers and users.