Normans cay is a small bahamian island a few hundred acres in the exumas, a chain of islands south and east of nassau, that served as the headquarters for carlos lehder s drugsmuggling operation from 1978 to around 1982. When lehder arrived in norman s cay in 1978 he started purchasing large pieces of property, including a home for himself, a hotel and an airstrip. For four years it was a drug smuggling hub and tropical hideaway for medellin cartel kingpin carlos lehder and. The operation was headed by carlos lehder of the medellin cartel. Through murder and extortion, lehder had gained complete control over the normans cay in exuma, which became the chief base for smuggling cocaine into the united states. From 1978 through 1982, the cay became the caribbeans main drug smuggling hub and a tropical hideaway and playground for lehder and associates. Lehder then began pushing the native population and vacationers off of norman s cay and rapidly gained full control of the island.
The only remnants from those days is a sunken plane in the middle of the harbor. Normans cay was used as a stopping point for drug transportation between colombia and the us in the late 70s and early 80s. Great harbour cay felt like a rundown and dilapidated version of whats left standing. There are all kinds of relics of lehders reign throughout the island, probably one of the most apparent is a plane wreck in the shallows of normans cay s cut. Normans cay was once a haven for a notorious drug smuggler, wanted by the bahamian government, the dea, the fbi and the coast guard. For the past couple of days, we have been at anchored at norman s cay.
Lehders smuggling operation on normans cay was an overnight success. Land transfer to enable serious development of normans cay. In the 1970s and 1980s, normans cay was notoriously known as the hub for a major multination drug smuggling operation led by carlos joe lehder, which the attorney general described as a traumatic period for the nation. There is a book about the history of the island called one particular harbour by william hunt that we are going to have to download. Normans cay, the original home of the failed fyre festival, has a very dark, drugfueled chapter in its history. Normans cay is a small island in the bahamas210 miles off the florida coast.
1505 1263 1272 924 554 942 1105 246 205 1183 921 365 1338 64 598 1349 258 876 42 425 888 1060 787 1015 1212 1603 1115 1253 205 690 610 661 1243 1215 230 679 370 1262 739