Watersports operator fined for imported weed

A 27-year-old Enterprise, Christ Church man was fined $4 000 after pleading guilty to charges relating to the discovery of 1.45 kilogrammes of cannabis inside a microwave he went to collect at the Bridgetown Port.

Appearing in the District ‘A’ Traffic Court, watersports operator Jabari Kerim Best pleaded guilty to two charges: doing acts preparatory for the purpose of possessing a trafficable quantity of the controlled substance, and being concerned with the importation of cannabis, on April 12.

The court was told that the accused went to shipping company Laparkan, paid for documents to collect a box containing foodstuff and a microwave sent from New York and presented those documents at Shed Two at the Port. When customs officers searched inside the microwave, they found three vacuum-sealed packages containing the vegetable matter, estimated to have a street value of $11 600.

Representing Best, attorney-at-law Simon Clarke urged the court to temper justice with mercy, noting his client’s cooperation with the police, his early guilty plea, remorse and employment status.

Magistrate Alison Burke imposed the fine on Best, payable in six months, for the importation offence. If he does not pay up, he will spend three months at Dodds Prison.

He was convicted, reprimanded and discharged on the other offence.

“So your convictions have gone from four to six,” the magistrate told Best, who nodded.