Attorney urges fine in cannabis trafficking case

A defence attorney has urged the High Court to impose a $30 000 fine rather than a custodial sentence on a fisherman convicted of trafficking more than 70 kilogrammes of cannabis more than seven years ago.

Defence attorney Kristin Vanderpool has told a High Court that a fine would meet justice in the case of Troy Decoursey Best.

The convicted man of Inch Marlow, Christ Church, previously admitted in the No. 3A Supreme Court before Justice Anthony Blackman that, within Barbados’s territorial waters, he had in his possession 71.6 kilogrammes of cannabis. He also confessed to trafficking and importing the drug.  

The offences occurred on January 18, 2019.  

Vanderpool told the court that the amount of the drug was an aggravating factor. But, expressed that to Best’s credit, there was no high degree of sophistication in the commission of the crime, he was not the mastermind and there was no attempt to flee when the boat was spotted by the Coast Guard.  

Regarding the offender, he noted that while Best had one previous conviction, it was dated, and that his client had pleaded guilty, had shown remorse and been cooperative.  

Suggesting a six-year starting point, he said that mitigating circumstances should reduce this to five years and urged that a non-custodial sentence of a fine be imposed.  

The sentencing hearing continues on June 10, when Principal State Counsel Joyann Catwell will make her submissions.  

(JB)