A DELEGATION from the United States Congress will arrive in Bermuda tomorrow as part of an investigation into links between drug money and terrorism in our region - but one terrorism expert believes they will be wasting their time.

The Congressional team has been in Jamaica this week, having already visited Grenada and the Dominican Republic, with Bermuda and the Bahamas next on their itinerary.

US Consul General Denis Coleman confirmed yesterday that the team would be here this weekend, arriving on Saturday and leaving on Sunday. It is understood they will meet with Police Commissioner Jonathan Smith.

But Washington-based Hugh Dugan, senior adviser on international operations and terrorism to US Senator Michael Enzi and a regular visitor to the island, said Bermuda was often unfairly associated with crimes that flourished farther south.

"I think it's very unlikely they'll find anything in Bermuda and that this is a case of bad planning," said Mr. Dugan, who served at the US Consul General's office in Bermuda in the 1980s. "It's more likely they've included Bermuda on the trip for personal reasons.

"Certainly from my observations, any narcotics or money-laundering activity that may have gone on in Bermuda is on a very small scale compared to what's happening in the Caribbean.

"They (the Congressional team) should know better. I think it's unfortunate that Bermuda is so often lumped together with the Caribbean when it is so far away and so different."

Representative Mark Souder of Indiana is heading the delegation, which includes other politicians and the US Drug Enforcement Agency's head of operations, Rogelio Guevara. Rep. Souder is the chairman of the Congressional subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and Human Resources.

Delegation member Rep. Ben Gilman told the Jamaica Observer this week that the Congressional team was trying to get "an overview of all the major shipping routes of narcotics through the region". And he said the region was important for US authorities to keep an eye on the region as it was a "trans-shipment area", especially for cocaine produced in Latin America and shipped to the US.

"I think all the ports are of concern, as we've gone from island to island," Rep. Gilman said. "Increasingly, we are finding there are a great deal of relationships between the funds - the illicit funds - coming out of narcotics trafficking being tied to terrorist organisations."

Rep. Gilman also praised Jamaica for its "outstanding" efforts to combat the traffickers, but he said certain other countries in the region lacked the political will and technical abilities to upgrade port security.

Another team member, Rep. Todd Akin of Missouri, said: "We are starting to see people that have otherwise been unconnected - such as people growing cocaine in Colombia - making contact with people in the Middle East." He added that this underscored the need for nations to co-operate in the war on crime and terrorism.

Since last year's September 11 terrorist attacks, the United States has become especially concerned about security on all levels. And Rep. Jo Ann Davis said there was evidence of links between the region's drug traffickers and the allies of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.

"We have already seen that there have been indicators of some of the Taliban coming to Colombia," she said, adding such activity had to be nipped in the bud.

Mr. Dugan felt the US team had little reason to come to Bermuda.

"I think they'd be spending their time better looking at some of the urban centres on the (US) East Coast," he said.

"Bermuda is far more sophisticated than the Caribbean islands, it's completely different socio-economically, it's more established and regulated and it's had a close relationship with the US over the years. The only thing that Bermuda has in common with the other places they're going is that it's an island."

Mr. Coleman said he was not at liberty to confirm who would be in the visiting delegation, where they would go or whom they would meet.

He said: "Bermuda is on their itinerary which includes the Bahamas and other parts of the Caribbean. They're on a fact-finding mission and they'll be talking to the Government about things that involve both countries.

"They will be trying to elicit information on issues such as drug interdiction and money laundering. It's a quite normal visit."

A spokesman for Government Information Services said yesterday: "We can confirm the team is coming, but no formal approach has been made to Government or Government House. But the team will be meeting with the Commissioner of Police."

Bermuda Police Service spokesman Dwayne Caines deferred all comment on the visit to the US Consul.

The delegation's visit comes hard on the heels of the release yesterday of a set of posters by Bermuda's National Anti-Money Laundering Committee, announced by Finance Minister Eugene Cox.

The posters, entitled "Think About It!" and "Stop, Be Vigilant", are aimed at raising alertness among the general public and advice on how to express suspicions of money laundering to the authorites.

Mr. Cox said: "As part of Government's ongoing efforts to ensure that members of the public are aware of the country's anti-money laundering initiatives, I am pleased to advise that the National Anti Money Laundering Committee will be distributing anti-money laundering awareness posters to the various financial institutions, Government post offices and retail outlets."

The posters started being distributed from yesterday by the Bermuda Monetary Authority and the Bermuda Police Service.