A Brampton father of seven facing economic and health challenges was enticed to become a drug courier in his attempt to smuggle nearly three kilograms of cocaine into Canada, a Superior court judge has ruled.

As a result, 44-year-old Dexter Peters was handed a jail sentence of six-and-a-half years by Justice Fletcher Dawson in Brampton court recently after Peters was convicted by a jury of importing the drug.

With credit given for time served in pre-trial custody, Peters’ actual jail term was reduced to five years and six months.

Jurors heard Peters used bags of dry soy products to try to conceal the 2.8 kilograms of cocaine that he brought from Jamaica back on Aug. 29, 2013. Canada Border Services Agency officers at Pearson International Airport found the drug inside Peters’ checked luggage.

Dawson said it appears Peters acted as a drug courier, being lured into the job by numerous economic and health challenges in his life.

“Those challenges rendered him vulnerable to the enticement of monetary gain by acting as a drug courier,” the judge ruled.

The judge added that case law points out that importing hard drugs into Canada calls for lengthy jail sentences, even for first time offenders like Peters who are well-regarded in their community.

“In this case the offence is grave,” the judge said in his Aug. 2 ruling. “Cocaine is an addictive substance for many who use it. Addiction to cocaine has ruined many lives and families. Addiction to hard drugs also leads to the commission of many other crimes. Violent crimes are often associated with the importation and distribution of cocaine.

Peters was also ordered to not own or carry any weapons for the next 10 years and must also give a DNA sample to the courts which will go into the national database.