Father’s fate

A father’s attempt to financially provide for his son’s college education overseas using illegal means has cost him ten years behind bars.

However, Korey Alphonso Flatts, of Block 19C, Silver Hill, Christ Church, only has three years and 209 days left to serve on that sentence after the High Court judge took into account several factors including his guilty plea and time already spent on remand.

Justice Pamela Beckles imposed the sentence on the 44-year-old fisherman in the No. 5 Supreme Court today.

Flatts pleaded guilty back in February to charges of possession, trafficking and importation of 303.4 kilogrammes of cannabis while in Barbados’ territorial waters on May 9, 2016.

Flatts captained a boat to St Vincent, collect the illegal drugs and returned to Barbados, Crown Counsel Neville Watson said in detailing the facts earlier this year.

Justice Beckles pointed to the aggravating factors of Flatts’ crime saying that the quantity of the illegal drugs seized suggested that it was expected to generate illegal profit.

“This was a premeditated act which required a certain level of sophistication and planning,” the judge said adding that Flatts was a “key player” in bringing in the drug from the neighouring Caribbean island in that he captained the boat, collected the substance and returned to Barbados.

There were no mitigating factors, she said, in relation to the crime. The mitigating factor was in relation to the offender, who pleaded guilty at the earliest possible time and acknowledged his wrongdoing.

In handing down the sentence she advised Flatts to enroll in any educational or vocational programme while incarcerated in order to facilitate employment on his release.