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Bermuda forbids all narcotics, weapons, ammunition, pornography and more

Those who ignore this should expect very severe local and international consequences

By Keith Archibald Forbes (see About Us).

Medical marijuana is not allowed and not a legitimate excuse. For airline arrivals, drug sniffing dogs are in the airport and for those who arrive by cruise ship, American authorities in US waters and on the high seas allow narcotics police to search cabins and other areas.

To avoid arrest for any type of illegal narcotics, such as but not limited to cannabis, liquid ecstasy, magic mushrooms, marijuana, cocaine, heroin, etc. don't import them. Bermuda laws do not permit the sale of marijuana or any other narcotic drugs for any reason, not even for any alleged medical purposes. Even so-called "legal highs" of the type sold in some places in the UK are illegal here. It applies to those who arrive by any means - air or cruise ship or yacht. Locals, tourists and visitors are not given any breaks. UK European, USA and Canadian laws don't apply in Bermuda. Excuses that the drugs are needed for medical reasons are deemed spurious, irrelevant, immaterial and not accepted.

If you live in Colorado or Washington State or anywhere else that has legalized marijuana or any other narcotic drug in any way, don't bring it to Bermuda. It isn't allowed here under any circumstances. Your home-state policies don't apply and are not recognized in Bermuda and you'll be prosecuted to the fullest extent of Bermuda law, regardless of whether you are cruise-ship visitor or airline passenger visitor or working newcomer or Bermudian or non-Bermudian resident.

Do not bring them to Bermuda! Yet despite this warning, Bermuda-bound cruise ship passengers galore are caught and convicted, spoiling their vacation and earning a permanent Bermuda and worldwide criminal record.

Cannabis sativa. Marijuana. One of the many narcotics for which there is zero tolerance on Bermuda, not even for medical use.

There is a total zero tolerance policy and crews of cruise ships and drug couriers are known as major importers. Bermuda Police and Customs Officers work very closely with their drug enforcement counterparts in the USA and elsewhere. Narcotics officers travel on every Bermuda-bound cruise ship, with drug-sniffing dogs and more and are given complete freedom by every cruise line whether in American, international or Bermuda waters to enter cabins of suspects at any time of the day or night, whether the cabins are occupied or not, when passengers are awake or sleeping, without a warrant, to make detailed searches and arrest suspects. They can routinely search and often act, either for no specific reason or on tips from passengers and crew who detect smells and unusual behavior. They work closely with staff on all the cruise ship lines serving Bermuda and when necessary call on the services of their Cruise Ship Enforcement Team. Detection systems are now very sophisticated and include drug-sniffing dogs employed for the task at the airport and on cruise ships. Despite warnings, arrests and convictions happen every day. Penalties for not complying are very harsh in Bermuda for even the smallest amount, with separate criminal charges for importation, possession, intent to supply and more - and with substantial repercussions elsewhere as well, as their names, passport numbers, social security numbers, and more are circulated to overseas authorities.

There have been many cruise ship and other visitors, crew members and others caught with drugs. Those arrested are charged, remanded in custody and possibly face several serious charges including importation with intent to supply. When visitors are caught and convicted of having illegal narcotics, they may lose their scheduled airline or cruise ship departure dates because they will have to remain in Bermuda until their court cases are scheduled, 5 days or more later; will not be able to apply for refunds; will be officially deported; and will have files on them given to police forces in other countries. Some complain, thinking their constitutional or other rights have been ignored, which is complete rubbish. They are expected to obey the laws of the land or pay the price.

Cruise ship passengers are strongly recommended to read, learn, inwardly digest and pay strict heed. The full list of the hundreds of banned narcotics are in the Bermuda Government's Misuse of Drugs Amendment Act 2005. It is not an excuse if you fail to make yourself familiar with the contents of the full list. Claims they invariably offer that they do not have the money to pay the fines are routinely ignored. They are remanded in custody or are put on bail with their transportation tickets impounded until they do. One reason officials in Bermuda are so tough is because fines are revenue to the Bermuda Government and the Customs Department is the source of the biggest of all revenue departments of the Government. So, unlike many other countries where Customs procedures appear to be relaxed and tolerant, the Bermuda system is neither. The discovery rate is over 70%. Cruise ships, their crews and passengers are automatically suspected now, especially since a huge stash of over 15 kilos of cocaine - valued locally at over US$4 million - were seized from a cruise ship recently.

Also illegal

Under no circumstances - except for specific, limited duration sporting occasions which include competitive shooting - are visitors and new residents allowed to import or own unlicensed (under Bermuda laws) guns of any kind, not even BB or pellet guns or slingshots. Penalties for doing so are severe. Only when such sporting events occur can participating athletes and/or their sports organizations apply well in advance to be allowed to import their firearms under a temporary Bermuda Government-issued Firearms License. Only they or the Bermuda Police or Bermuda Regiment or some other Bermuda-recognized entity or their registered members authorized to do so may hold Bermuda Firearms Licenses to possess and use Bermuda-licensed firearms in Bermuda.

Offensive and defensive weapons of any kind, like real or fake or toy firearms (guns) of any type, including flare guns and any ammunition; any kind of weapon to deter thieves or intruders; catapults (slingshots); BB guns; cutlasses; crossbows; mace in canisters; pornographic material; throwing knives; flick knives; martial arts weaponry; nightsticks; nunchakus; spiked wristbands; swords; spear guns, all pistols, all rifles, all ammunition for them, signal guns, all other weapons and all live marine animals (including lobsters) by any private individuals. Residents, visitors, and businesspeople who ignore the above will have their weapons seized permanently by the Bermuda Police Service and those convicted will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. They will get a minimum ten year jail sentence for illegally importing the weapons into Bermuda and will be publicized and reported to Federal or provincial or state authorities for illegally carrying firearms on ships or aircraft. It is not an acceptable excuse to say you were not asked by airport staff if you packed your bags yourself, because you were. Nor is it acceptable to say that you forgot an illegal item was in your luggage, or was put there by mistake.

Snakes. It is illegal to bring snakes into Bermuda either as a business or a private citizen .

Bermuda Immigration and Customs inspection

Bermuda Customs Officers took over from Bermuda Immigration the procedure for arrivals in early 2002. Be prepared for lines (queues) at the Immigration desk, then Customs duty counter, then Customs inspection queue. There is now a "green light" or "nothing to declare" system as in North American, Irish and European airports. After claiming luggage from the carousels, go through Bermuda Customs. Declare a medically prescribed drug.

If at a hotel and a Customs Officer notes you are bringing nothing illegal and have no items to declare, you may be waved through. If not staying at an hotel, you and your luggage will probably be inspected, possibly thoroughly.

Allowed in Bermuda

85% of all visitors are from the USA and assume, incorrectly, that in Customs exemption of duties for visitors - from wherever they may be - and returning residents, Bermuda has the same very generous laws as the USA. Unfortunately, this is not the case. By comparison with the USA, Britain and Europe, Bermuda greets its visitors with tiny personal allowances, almost no customs-duty free allowances for gifts. (Visitors may bring in, duty free for personal use only while they are here, their clothes and articles like cameras, golf bags, 50 cigars or 200 cigarettes or 0.454 kilos (1 pound weight) tobacco; 1 liter of liquor or wine and a token $30 gift allowance). To avoid being arrested and having goods confiscated, do not try to import goods into Bermuda without paying the duty. And for returning residents there are extremely strict laws, regulations, controls and miniscule allowances compared to the generous procedures allowed in the USA, Canada, United Kingdom, etc. for their returning residents. Items brought in by visitors and residents that are not within their duty free category incur a stand import duty rate of 22.25% of purchase cost. Produce receipts from a retail store satisfactory to the Customs Department of actual purchase price of the items or be prepared for the Customs Department to assess items for your payment of duty at much higher Bermuda prices. This is applied vigorously.

Compare the following:

Normally, in the USA, for visitors or returning residents, the duty-free allowance or exemption from Customs Duty is $400 per trip, but from November 4, 2002, it was raised from November 4, 2002 to $800 (from $400) for those who have not used the exemption in 30 days.

In Bermuda, returning residents are allowed an allowance of only US$ 200 (until 1989 it was US$400 a person, reduced in 1990/91 to US$250 a person and subsequently reduced yet again to US$100 per person, now back since 2015 to $200 a person after severe international criticism) before they pay duty on items they bring but visitors are not entitled to such an allowance.

All visitors and residents arriving by air or cruise ship are now being given the following form by airlines and cruise ships and are required by the Bermuda Government to complete them on both sides before they clear Bermuda Immigration. No other country requires this form.

Front

Reverse

Bermuda Customs are now very, very tough on the rising number of duty evaders with more court cases plus on-the-spot fines at the airport. Failure to comply with customs regulations result in penalties for false declarations and prosecution of more cases involving serious commercial fraud. Duty cheats can also get a criminal record. Individuals who evade duty are liable for penalties of up to $12,000 or five times the duty payable while commercial duty cheats are subject to fines of up to $100,000. Customs officers make on-the-spot penalty assessments at the Airport Baggage Hall with officers given discretion about the levels of fines.

If you bring any foodstuffs with you, check with Bermuda Customs to know what is legal and dutiable as the case may be. Only Bermuda Customs can be the definitive source of information in this regard. Write in advance to Bermuda Customs at Hamilton Hall, 40 Front Street, Hamilton HM 11, P. O. Box HM 2084, Hamilton HM HX, Bermuda. Some fresh, frozen or cooked fish can be brought in providing the packaging is free of algae or seaweed.

Most Consumer and electronic goods can be imported if determined to be free of narcotics, subject to import duty.

Owners of arriving animals, plants, flowers, fruits, shellfish and products and vegetables must have proper documentation approved earlier by the Bermuda Government's Department of the Environment. All plants brought in by residents and visitors by air or via the Post Office must have documentation approved in advance by the Plant Protection Laboratory or they will be confiscated and referred to that facility for extensive plant inspection for any pests or problems. Residents and visitors should note that under the Fisheries (Protected Species) Order 1978, the Queen Conch (Strombus Gigas) and the Harbour Conch (Strombus Costatus) are illegal to import, an offence to purchase and possess and illegal to take from Bermuda waters.

To ensure that persons do not pay duty again on goods they export temporarily for their personal use, they should register duty paid articles, via Customs Form 52a, before their departure. They can do so before a Customs Officer at HM Customs Main Office; or General Post Office - Parcel Post; or Airport Customs Passenger Arrivals Hall prior to check-in for an airline flight; or Airport Customs Long Room Freight Shed; or HM Customs Yacht Reporting Facility, St. George's.

Press Reports, Convictions or mentions in recent court cases

2020. June 6. Two people were arrested after a $7.5 million cannabis seizure, it was revealed yesterday. Detective Superintendent Nicholas Pedro, in charge of the crime division, said: While we are aware of the legislative agenda towards decriminalization of cannabis, we must emphasize that importation of cannabis remains illegal. Cannabis imported via this method is co-ordinated by persons involved in organised crime, with close links to the gang and gun culture currently plaguing our community. The police drugs unit made the seizure in a joint operation with customs officers on May 13. The pair were detained and later released on bail pending further investigation. Mr Pedro said police were concerned that recreational cannabis had a higher content of THC  the active ingredient in the drug  than cannabis in regulated jurisdictions. He added: We take our responsibility for protecting the community seriously, and will continue to target organised crime groups that profit from the sale of illegal drugs, which ultimately harm our community. The drugs unit is investigating and will release more information as the case progresses.

2020. March 13. Past convictions for possession of small amounts of cannabis could be quashed, a Cabinet minister signaled yesterday. Kim Wilson, the Minister of Health who led the House of Assembly budget debate for the Ministry of Legal Affairs, said the policy was under consideration as part of a wider look at cannabis and the law. Ms Wilson said: Work will continue on this 2020-21 budget year, to advance from limited decriminalization of cannabis to establish a robust licensing regime that will create a comprehensive framework that embraces the science of cannabis use for medicinal purposes and capitalize on the economic benefits of a regulated cannabis industry. This will be achieved by tabling a new Bill entitled the Cannabis Licensing and Control Act 2020, along with the attendant regulations. Consideration is also being given to expunging criminal records for convictions of seven grams or less. Such persons, with otherwise untainted records and who not would be prosecuted had the new law been in effect, would be considered to be free from this burden. Ms Wilson said the ministrys potential changes included the creation of a simplified, regulated cannabis framework, which could include regulated cannabis use and personal cultivation, after the public showed support for decriminalization. She said: Moving from limited decriminalization of cannabis to ending unnecessary, continued criminalisation and laying the framework for a medical cannabis industry presents many challenges. Our government has honoured its commitment to respond to the increasing numbers of medical professionals and patients embracing the science surrounding cannabis. Government decriminalised possession of less than 7 grams of cannabis in 2017 and pledged legislation to increase access to medicinal cannabis. Kathy Lynn Simmons, the Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs, who sits in the Senate, tabled draft legislation to legalise medical cannabis and establish regulations on licences for growers and importers, in the Senate in December. Ms Simmons said at the time: Public consultation is meaningful, at this stage, because now that a draft framework is fleshed out in legislation, we hope it encourages constructive feedback and comments, rather than fuelling polarizing arguments in the abstract. She added: I can confidently say that this Bill and the regulations will fulfil this governments promise to deliver new mechanisms for lawful access to medicinal cannabis, by way of a prescription from a medical professional and dispensed by a pharmacist and establishes the legislative infrastructure for the implementation of domestic medicinal cannabis production, while also satisfying Bermudas international obligations.

2020. February 25. A British man accused of importing almost half-a-million dollars worth of ecstasy and cannabis was remanded in custody yesterday. Edward Odell, 53, was charged in Magistrates Court with the importation of cannabis resin and MDMA, commonly called ecstasy. He was also charged with possession of resin with intent to supply and possession of MDMA with intent to supply. The incident was alleged to have happened last Thursday in St Georges. Mr Odell, from Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, did not enter a plea because the case must be heard in front of the Supreme Court. Senior magistrate Juan Wolffe ordered Mr Odell to appear in the Supreme Court arraignments session on April 1 and remanded him in custody.

2020. February 3. A heroin addict admitted breaking into two homes and stealing more than $100,000 of jewellery and valuables to fund his habit. Vincent Burch, 44, pleaded guilty to stealing more than $60,000 of goods from one property and $40,000 of items from a second. Magistrates Court heard on Friday that he raided a home in Longford Road, Warwick, on December 17 and broke into a safe. A workman hired to paint the homes roof saw Burch leaving the property with two knapsacks that afternoon. The workman, who told police he had seen the defendant ride a motorcycle up and down the road earlier that day, chased Burch, who fled on foot. The workman found the motorcycle Burch had been riding and stayed with it until police arrived. Police contacted the motorcycles owner, who said Burch had called him that morning and asked to borrow the bike so he could visit his daughter. The owner said Burch later told him the bike had broken down on Longford Road and had been taken by police. The court heard Burch also broke into a home on Pokiok Crescent, Smiths, on January 22. The homeowner told police he discovered his bedroom safe missing when he returned home that afternoon. Police arrested Burch on January 28 and, in a search of his Devonshire home, found items that had been taken from both the homes. Burch admitted both burglaries. He added that he had taken the safe stolen in the second break-in to South Shore and opened it. He took what he thought he could sell and dumped the rest into the sea. Burch said he had traded some of the stolen jewellery for half a gram of heroin. Senior magistrate Juan Wolffe questioned the prosecution about the value of the stolen items  said to have included a $20,000 ring and a $12,000 ring  and directed the Crown to find out if documents to confirm their value could be produced. Mr Wolffe said: Lets get that information so when I sentence him, we know we are sentencing him for the right value. He could get from 12 months up to five years  depending on the value of that could be different. The magistrate also ordered a social inquiry report and a drugs assessment on Burch and referred him to a sitting of the Drug Treatment Court this week.

2020. January 25. The Supreme Court has upheld a suspended sentence for a woman who smuggled a powerful painkiller into Bermuda. Mandaya Thomas was convicted of bringing 92 grams of acetyl fentanyl, a synthetic drug stronger than morphine, into Bermuda in March 2018. Puisne Judge Shade Subair Williams had heard the drugs had a street value of up to $270,480. Thomas, from Pembroke, was sentenced to 4½ years in prison for the offence, but magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo suspended four years of the sentence for two years. Prosecutors appealed the decision on the basis that the suspended sentence was inadequate. Jaleesa Simons, for the Crown, argued in the Supreme Court in November that penalties for fentanyl should attract a similar starting sentence to that of heroin. She added that Mr Tokunbo had allowed the novelty of the drug to be a mitigating factor when he passed sentence. Mrs Justice Subair Williams said in a decision released on January 7 that a starting sentence of between five and eight years would have been appropriate in Magistrates Court. She added: I would consider a 4½ year term to be an appropriate basic sentence. This is a very modest shortfall of what the Crown sought. Mrs Justice Subair Williams also found that Mr Tokunbo acted within his powers to suspend most of the sentence. She said: If anything, it might be said that he erred on the side of caution by characterizing the reasons for suspending the respondents sentence as exceptional. I accept that the passage of time which lapsed between the date of the offence and the sentence hearing, in addition to her more recent personal developments, which included the birth of a new baby and a serious road traffic accident, were all proper considerations for the magistrate to have, in regard to deciding whether to suspend the sentence. She added that the newness of the drug may have given weight to Thomass claim she did not know the harm that it could cause. Mrs Justice Subair said: The magistrate was entitled to consider this point as part of the good reason test he rightly applied. For this reason, I do not think it right to interfere with the learned magistrates exercise of discretion in allowing the suspension of four years of the sentence for two years. Acetyl fentanyl is an opioid similar to fentanyl, which is 15 times more powerful than morphine. It has never been licensed for medical use in any country, but has been sold illegally as a heroin substitute and been linked to hundreds of deaths in Europe and the United States.

2020. January 23. A social inquiry report was ordered on a man who cultivated at least 75 cannabis plants in his backyard. Martin Ford, 58, pleaded guilty to the offence in Magistrates Court. Police attended Fords home in Warwick on July 4 last year after they suspected him of drug possession. The court heard that officers spoke to Fords landlord, who said that his tenant was not home. The landlord told police that he was unaware of any drugs. Officers searched the property and found several cannabis plants in the backyard, hidden behind bushes and chain-link fences. The plants were later sent to a government lab to be tested. Ford turned himself in to police on July 12 and admitted the plants were cannabis and that they were grown for personal use. He was charged with the offence on November 21 after technicians confirmed that the plants were cannabis. Javon Rogers, for the Crown, told the court that police had removed between 75 and 91 plants from the premises. He added that Ford could face a maximum penalty of ten years imprisonment and a $500,000 fine. Bruce Swan, for the defence, said that his client had grown the plants for medical use and asked for an assessment of Fords drug use. Senior magistrate Juan Wolffe adjourned the case until March 11 and released Ford on $7,500 bail.

2020. January 3. A Devonshire man was charged in Magistrates Court this morning with having heroin with intent to supply. Winston Paynter, 39, was not required to enter a plea as the matter must be heard by the Supreme Court. The offence allegedly took place between an unknown date and April 20, 2019. The quantity and value of the drugs involved was not disclosed. Magistrate Tyrone Chin released Mr Paynter on $50,000 bail with two sureties of the same amount. The matter is expected to appear before the Supreme Court on February 3.

2019. December 23. Three men were arrested at the airports private jet terminal on suspicion of drugs offences at the weekend, police said today. The arrests came after a joint operation between the police drugs unit and Customs officers was carried out on Saturday. A police spokesman said: Earlier that evening two local men entered the island on a private jet with multiple pieces of luggage that were believed to contain controlled drugs. Those arrested remain in custody pending the outcome of investigations and consultation with the Director of Public Prosecutions. He added: The Bermuda Police Service remains committed to working with its partners in law enforcement, both locally and overseas, to stem the flow of illegal drugs into Bermuda.

2019. December 18. A man was remanded in custody for drug importation yesterday despite a plea that he needed to care for his sick mother. Magistrates Court heard that customs officers at LF Wade International Airport found cannabis resin worth almost $123,000 on May 30 in a package addressed to Michael Johnson. Officers inspected the package and the two machine parts inside and found a plantlike material when they removed a drill bit. A further inspection found 1,229.7 grams of cannabis resin hidden in the machine parts. Police were alerted and tracked the package as Johnson made arrangements to have it delivered to him on July 3. Officers confronted Johnson and searched his home in Hamilton Parish after the parcel was handed over and arrested him. Johnson, 51, admitted the offence yesterday. Maria Sofianos, for the Crown, asked that Johnson be remanded in custody until a social inquiry report on him was completed. Kamal Worrell, for the defence, argued that his client was the sole caregiver for his elderly mother, who had suffered heart attacks and strokes. Ms Sofianos said that Johnson admitted the charge in March this year and had missed previous court dates. She added that he had ample time to get his affairs in order. Magistrate Tyrone Chin remanded Johnson in custody until February 4 for a social inquiry report.

2019. December 17. Two men were jailed for three years yesterday after they plotted to bring drugs with an estimated street value of more than $500,000 into Bermuda on a cruise ship. Cannabis, vape pen cartridges and shatter  a super-strength derivative of marijuana  were seized from a cruise ship cabin occupied by Jahad Waldron and Julian Mendez last year. The pair, from Brooklyn, New York, apologised to the Supreme Court after they admitted conspiracy to import controlled drugs between an unknown date and September 5, 2018. Acting Puisne Judge Craig Attridge said the two were caught by security staff on the Celebrity Summit after it sailed from New Jersey. The court heard that the substances involved were more than 5,000 grams of shatter, about 420 grams of cannabis and 192 vape pen cartridges, which each contained a milliliter of THC, the active ingredient in cannabis. Alan Richards, for the Crown, said the estimated street value in Bermuda was up to $542,853. But he accepted that there might be flexibility in the figure because it was the first time courts had dealt with some of the drugs on such a scale. Mr Richards added: Particularly shatter and the THC oil are only just starting to be seen on the black market in this jurisdiction. He told the court that some of the shatter was found to have a particularly high concentration of THC at 85 per cent, compared to 17 per cent in the plant material. Charles Richardson, who appeared for Waldron, said that an appropriate sentence would be two years in jail, with time served taken into consideration. He added that the mens sentences would have been lower if they had been convicted in their home country. Archibald Warner, who appeared for Mendez, said: These defendants would not be before this court if they were not wrongfully brought into Bermuda. Waldron, 28, told the court: Im sorry for what Ive done. Mendez, 24, apologised and added: Ive been through a lot since Ive been here, Ive had a lot of time to think about what Ive done and I just ask the court to show mercy. Mr Justice Attridge said the case had led to arguments about the legality of the charges and called into question the jurisdiction of these courts. He added that the men appeared to be of previous good character. But Mr Justice Attridge said the quantity of drugs was very significant. He added it was possible that Waldron might have played a more prominent part in the crime. He said: There is no clear basis for distinguishing between the culpability of the defendants. Mr Justice Attridge sentenced the pair, who had no previous convictions, to three years in prison, with time served to be taken into consideration. Leslie Grant, the executive director at Focus Counselling Services, an anti-drug abuse agency, said: Shatter is a glasslike concentrate of cannabis oil. Its effects are similar to that of hash and hash oil. This form of cannabis is commonly produced in the US and Canada, but it is not very widely used in Bermuda.

2019. December 10. A British woman caught with more than a kilogram of cannabis resin at the airport admitted possession of more than $139,000 of cannabis resin with intent to supply yesterday. Kirsty Hewitt, 30, pleaded guilty in Magistrates Court to both charges. The court heard that Hewitt arrived at the LF Wade International Airport in St Georges on a British Airways flight on December 3. She was cleared through a luggage check by Customs officers, but sniffer dogs alerted the officers to her suitcase. Hewitt denied possession of contraband. Officers found a red and black backpack in Hewitts suitcase that she claimed belonged to a friend. Crown prosecutor Shuntae Simons said that Customs officers noticed the bag was empty but still heavy. Magistrate Tyrone Chin heard that customs cut the bag open and found a bag with a brown substance inside. Hewitt was arrested and taken to the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, where she had an X-ray and physical examination before she was taken to Hamilton Police Station. The bag was later confirmed to contain 1,391.5 grammes of cannabis resin with a total street value of $139,150. Hewitt was interviewed by police but answered no comment to all questions. Ms Simons said that Hewitt, from Watford, near London, should be remanded in custody in case she turned to crime to support herself. She added that the drugs could have caused serious damage and posed a significant threat. But Simone Smith-Bean, for the defence, said that the resin, although illegal, did not pose health risks as serious as drugs such as heroin. Ms Smith-Bean added that she and her client had not seen the evidence against Hewitt and asked for time to review it before sentence was passed. Mr Chin remanded Hewitt in custody and adjourned the case until January 10 for the prosecution to give the evidence to Ms Smith-Bean.

2019. November 28. A man yesterday admitted nine drug-related charges at Magistrates Court. Pepe Outerbridge, 44, pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of money from criminal conduct and two counts of possession of cocaine with intent to supply. He also pleaded guilty to five possession of drug equipment charges. The court heard that Outerbridge was caught after police interrupted a drug deal on Victoria Street in Hamilton. Police searched him and found 11 brown twist bags that contained a rock-like substance. Outerbridge told police when questioned: You know what it is. Its crack cocaine. The incident took place on January 15. Outerbridge was arrested and searched again at Hamilton Police Station, where officers found $106.40 in cash and a black and silver smoking device. Police later raided Outerbridges Pembroke home where they found $8,650 in cash and 21 brown twist bags that contained a white rocklike substance. They also found a clear package with two black pills inside, as well as three grinders and a scale. Outerbridge said in police interview that the substances were drugs intended for supply and that he used the scale and grinders for their preparation. He added that the money found on him and in his home was the proceeds of drug sales. Outerbridge first appeared in Magistrates Court last month and denied all the charges, but switched to a guilty plea yesterday. The court heard that Outerbridge had a total of 64.42 grams of cocaine and a total of $8,650 in cash from drug sales. Senior magistrate Juan Wolffe adjourned the case until January 6.

2019. November 22. A man was given a six-month suspended prison sentence and fined $500 on drug possession charges yesterday. Scott Dill, 34, pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine with intent to supply and cannabis possession. The offences took place on March 12, 2014 in Pembroke. The court heard that Dill was in possession of 3.05 grams of cannabis and 7.58 grams of cocaine. It was also said that $1,700 in connection with drug sales were seized from his Pembroke home. Dill appeared in court on March 2015 and pleaded not guilty to the offences. However, he switched his plea on October 10 this year and the matter was adjourned for sentencing on November 21. Senior magistrate Juan Wolffe warned Dill that the suspended sentence meant if he re-offended over the next nine months, he faced serving his jail term.

2019. November 7. Bermuda Legislation to draw a legal line between cannabis and hemp has been passed by the House of Assembly. The Misuse of Drugs (Hemp) Amendment Act 2019 amended the Misuse of Drugs Act 1972 to create a distinction between cannabis and hemp to allow for the importation, possession, supply and sale of hemp products. The new law defined hemp as the cannabis sativa plant, or any part of it, with a tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of not more than 1 per cent. Tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, is the psychoactive component of cannabis. Premier David Burt said at last Fridays sitting of the House that the legislation was to be introduced as part of wider legal changes designed to legalise medicinal cannabis which are expected to be tabled before Christmas. But he added: There are particular matters dealing with hemp and the importation of hemp products right now which need to be dealt with and addressed. Mr Burt said the legalisation would stop unfair treatment of business owners by police. He added: To the entrepreneurs who have been challenged with this I am sorry that it has taken this long, but we are going to make sure that we resolve this issue. We hope that this will bring clarity to Bermuda Police Service which is still seemingly doing their job enforcing the law as it currently stands. Patricia Gordon-Pamplin, the shadow health minister, thanked the Government for the legislation on behalf of the business community. She said that the legal change made it clear which products could be sold in Bermuda. Ms Gordon Pamplin added: The importers will know whats appropriate and whats not and they will act accordingly. Cole Simons, the shadow education minister, questioned how the Government had decided on the 1 per cent THC content. He highlighted that in Britain, the United States and Canada hemp products were defined as having THC content of not more than 0.3 per cent. Craig Cannonier, the Opposition leader, also questioned the 1 per cent threshold. He said: Not all products that are imported will actually say the THC content. It will be interesting to hear from the minister how we are monitoring that. But Mr Cannonier added: I am glad to see that this will open up entrepreneurial opportunities to Bermudians. Kim Wilson, the Minister of Health, said that the 1 per cent THC content threshold would give consumers a greater choice. She said: The majority of hemp products do contain a minimum of one per cent with respect to the THC level.

2019. September 7. A Massachusetts man who was caught with cocaine in his cruise ship cabin was ordered to pay $750 before he can leave the island. Kyle Melannson, 29, from Leominster, pleaded guilty yesterday to importing cocaine and THC  the active ingredient in cannabis  into Bermuda in an incident on September 3. The court heard the drugs were found in a search of his cabin by the crew of the Norwegian Gem. Melannson admitted to police that the drugs, 0.2 grams of cocaine and a vape cartridge that contained THC, belonged to him. He told the court he was concerned about his ability to pay a fine because he had no money and the ship left Bermuda on Tuesday. Melannson said: On the first night I slept outside. Im scared, sir. Im afraid I cannot pay. I apologise to all for this situation. I just want to go home and I will do my best to get the money and get the plane to go home. Charles Richardson, duty counsel, said Melannson had no previous convictions here or in the United States and that the drugs were not intended for supply. He added that he had advised the defendant to contact family and friends overseas to secure the money to pay for whatever fine he received. Senior magistrate Juan Wolffe fined Melannson $500 for the cocaine and another $250 for the THC. The magistrate also ordered that the fines be paid in full before Melannson is able to leave the country.

2019. September 4. Two men were charged with possession of a total of $550,000 worth of drugs yesterday. Charles Butterfield, 33, was charged in Magistrates Court with possession of cannabis and cannabis resin with intent to supply on December 20, 2019, in St Georges. Kinte Smith, also 33, was charged with possession of cannabis resin between an unknown date and December 20 last year in St Georges. The court heard that the two, both from St Georges, were alleged to have more than five kilograms of cannabis resin with an estimated street value of $500,000. It was further alleged that Mr Smith had about one kilogram of cannabis with a street value of $50,000. The men did not have to enter a plea as the case must be heard in the Supreme Court. Magistrate Maxanne Anderson released the pair on $10,000 bail and ordered them to hand over their passports. She adjourned the case until the October arraignments session at Supreme Court.

2019. August 6. A British man was fined $1,000 yesterday after he pleaded guilty to cocaine possession. Magistrates Court heard that police officers spotted Fardin Mohammadi, 23, acting suspiciously with another man near the flagpole on Front Street. Officers approached Mohammadi and found a small plastic bag filled with 0.34 grams of white substance when they searched him. The incident took place on July 6. Mohammadi, from Brighton, East Sussex, UK, apologized to the court.

2019. July 11. An American cruise ship passenger was fined $3,000 after he admitted two drug importation charges. Frederick Hall Jr, 50, pleaded guilty to the importation of cannabis and THC, a psychoactive component of cannabis. Magistrates Court heard that customs officers were called to the Anthem of the Seas after crew members suspected drug use. Officers searched Halls cabin and found cigarettes, rolling papers, an e-cigarette containing a coloured oil and plastic bags filled with a plantlike material. Hall was questioned by customs officers and he admitted that the drugs were his. He told them: I use them to get high. Customs alerted police and Hall was taken to Hamilton Police Station and charged. The court heard that the plastic bags contained a total of 19.62 grams of cannabis. The e-cigarette found in Halls cabin contained less than one millilitre of THC. Hall, from Connecticut, apologised to the court and explained that he took the drugs for anxiety. He said: I took them to fall asleep. We were staying in a small cabin and I get claustrophobic. There was no way I could sleep in there. Jason Outerbridge, for the defence, told the court that cannabis was legal in Halls home state and added that his client was unaware of the islands laws on cannabis. But the Crown said that cruise ships gave visitors a spoken and written warning about Bermudas strict drugs laws. Senior magistrate Juan Wolffe fined Hall $2,500 on the cannabis charge and $500 for the THC importation.

Editors note: cannabis in the US state of Connecticut is illegal for recreational use, as is the case in Bermuda, but possession of up to 14 grams is decriminalised. Medical usage is permitted.

2019. July 10. A New Jersey man was fined $16,000 after he offered to pay off a customs officer who found drugs on him. Paul Rodrigues, who is understood to be a prison guard in the United States, admitted having a quantity of tetrahydrocannabinol, the active ingredient of cannabis, destroying evidence and attempting to bribe a customs officer in Magistrates Court on June 28. The cruise ship passenger was arrested on June 26 in Sandys after the drugs were discovered. The court heard that Rodrigues asked a temporary customs officer to discard the drugs found on him, and said: Ill even splash you some cash. He was also able to destroy a quantity of lemon lightning vaporiser cartridges by pulling them from a sealed evidence bag and flushing them down the toilet. Senior magistrate Juan Wolffe fined Rodrigues $10,000 for attempting to bribe a customs officer and another $5,000 for his attempt to destroy evidence. He additionally was fined $1,000 for the importation of a controlled drug. Mr Wolffe ordered Rodrigues to pay the full fine before he is able to leave the island.

2019. June 19. A Warwick man admitted handling more than $290,000 of drugs with intent to supply. Luri Scott, 24, pleaded guilty at Supreme Court yesterday to handling cannabis, cannabis resin and tetrahydrocannabinol, the active ingredient in cannabis, at his home. He also admitted having drug equipment, specifically a digital scale. The offences were said to have taken place on December 15, 2017. Acting Puisne Judge Craig Attridge ordered a social inquiry report and a drug assessment on Scott and released him on bail until August. But he warned Scott: You should not take from that any indication that you will not be sentenced on this matter to a custodial sentence.

2019. June 8. A tearful tourist grandmother apologized as she was fined $2,000 yesterday for the importation of drugs. American Wendy Incatasciato told Magistrates Court she was sorry for her actions and that she used the drug to help relieve the symptoms of migraines and stress. Senior magistrate Juan Wolffe told the 65-year-old, from Staten Island, New York, to take home the message to other potential visitors that Bermuda did not tolerate people who tried to bring illicit substances to the island. Kenlyn Swan, for the prosecution, said customs officers on duty at Heritage Wharf in Dockyard carried out routine checks on the gangway of the Norwegian Escape cruise ship on Wednesday. They searched Incatasciatos bag and found three rolled cigarettes inside a black spectacles case. Ms Swan said: She admitted the cigarettes were hers and that they contained marijuana. Officers also found electronic vaporizers with cartridges, which Incatasciato admitted belonged to her and contained oil with THC  a main constituent of cannabis. The prosecutor added: When asked, the defendant admitted to customs officers that she also had a little marijuana in her cabin on the cruise ship. Officials searched the cabin and found further substances and plant material, which were later sent for analysis. The court heard police were called and Incatasciato was arrested and taken to Hamilton Police Station, where she confirmed that the items all belonged to her. Ms Swan said results from tests of the substances showed that the total amount of cannabis found was about 9.3 grams. Incatasciato admitted the offence. Vaughan Caines, the duty counsel, said his client appealed for the mercy of the court. Incatasciato, who was accompanied by her daughter in the courtroom, said: I truly apologise ... Im really so sorry. Ive never been in trouble, Im a grandmother of two. She told the court: I get very bad migraines, I have a severe stress disorder and it helps me, especially with the migraine headaches. Mr Wolffe confirmed that she was aware that the offences could lead to a jail sentence and asked: Why shouldnt I lock you up? Incatasciato, who fought back tears, said: Im begging you, please, let me get back to my ship. I promise I wont ever come back here. She added: Ive never been in a court, Ive never been in a police station. Mr Wolffe fined her $1,500 for the cannabis charge and a further $500 for the THC. He said: You need to send the word back to Staten Island, New York, that we have some very harsh laws in Bermuda when it comes to drugs.

2019. April 27. An American man was fined $2,000 after admitting to drug importation yesterday. Daniel Dias De Faria, 26, pleaded guilty to bringing 37.45 grams of marijuana into Bermuda. Magistrates Court heard that the Paterson, New Jersey resident was a passenger aboard the Norwegian Jade berthed in Dockyard. Customs officers were on board the ship yesterday afternoon when they were alerted by ship security to a smell coming from one of the cabins. A suitcase containing a plastic bag of plantlike material was discovered under a bed inside the cabin. Police arrested Dias De Faria on Thursday night. He told the court that he was not aware of the marijuana laws in Bermuda. Dias De Faria added: I would just like to say Im sorry. Magistrate Maxanne Anderson fined Dias De Faria $2,000.

2019. April 5. A corrupt customs officer convicted of cocaine dealing has been ordered to hand over nearly $180,000 in assets as the proceeds of crime. Roberto Marques was ordered by Supreme Court to pay the total sum within six months, with the cash to be added to the Confiscated Assets Fund. Marques, who was sentenced to ten years in jail two years ago, will have to pay $45,000 immediately, with the rest, about $130,000, to be paid within six months. Puisne Judge Carlisle Greaves ruled that if Marques failed to pay up, he would serve an extra seven years behind bars. The order came after the Bermuda Police Service asked for a Supreme Court confiscation hearing. Acting Superintendent Nicholas Pedro, of the Bermuda Police Service, said: We welcome this decision and note that we are committed to using our resources to fairly and transparently remove the proceeds of criminal conduct from the financial system of Bermuda. Marques was a serving customs officer when he was caught with the drug in 2016 and was jailed a year later. Mr Pedro said that the BPS Financial Crime Unit gave evidence that Marques had benefited from his criminal activity over a six-year period and his take from crime amounted to more than $255,000. Assets that were restrained included a Bermuda property, a property in the Azores, a vehicle valued at $18,000 and bank accounts holding balances of more than $15,000. Mr Justice Greaves declared Marquess realizable assets at $179,240.46 and ruled that they should be forfeited to the Crown.

2019. April 3. A Southampton man accused of drug smuggling was released on bail this afternoon after his Supreme Court trial ended with a hung jury. Edward Jaloni Albouy, 25, had denied charges of smuggling MDMA  also known as ecstasy  cannabis and cannabis resin into Bermuda on September 3, 2017. He was also accused of possessing the drugs  said to be worth more than $430,000  with intent to supply. But the seven man, five woman jury told acting Puisne Judge Craig Attridge that they could not come to a majority verdict after several hours of deliberation. Mr Attridge released the Mr Albouy on bail until May 1, when he will appear before the Supreme Court again.

2019. April 3. A woman denied importing cannabis and other substances to Bermuda when she appeared in court yesterday. Ranae Furbert faced six charges during arraignments at the Supreme Court. She was accused of bringing cannabis into the island on January 11, 2018, and it was further alleged that she imported a substance containing tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabis resin on the same date. Ms Furbert, 27, of St Georges, denied the charges, as well as counts of possessing each of the substances with intent to supply. Puisne Judge Carlise Greaves set another hearing of the case for later this month and extended Ms Furberts bail.

2019. April 3. Four people were arrested after police seized a substantial amount of drugs from homes in two parishes, authorities reported yesterday. Police said 18.4lbs of plant material and 6oz of white powdery substance and pills were found in properties in Devonshire and Pembroke last Thursday. A Bermuda Police Service spokesman said officers were awaiting a report from analysts to confirm the types of drugs found.

2019. March 30. A man accused of smuggling $430,000 worth of drugs into Bermuda said he agreed to bring in shirts and baby supplies for a friend and had no idea drugs were hidden inside the items. Edward Jaloni Albouy, 25, told the Supreme Court yesterday he was shocked and surprised when the drugs were found, and called his friend after he was released from custody. Mr Albouy said: I asked him if he would come clean. Obviously, I didnt do it. When I told him what happened, all he could tell me is Im sorry, Im sorry. He just kept telling me he was sorry and he didnt think it was that serious. Mr Albouy explained he flew to Britain on August 23, 2017 to visit colleges in Birmingham and a British friend who lived in Bristol. He stayed in a hotel near Birmingham then caught a train to Bristol to meet the friend, who cannot be identified for legal reasons. Mr Albouy said he had expected to return to his hotel that night, but lost track of time and the friend offered to let him stay with him. He added because he had not brought toiletries or a change of clothes, the pair went to a Tesco supermarket to buy a few items. Mr Albouy said his friend asked him if he could take some items back to Bermuda with him while they were in the store. He added: He asked me if I would take back some items he was going to buy for his godson and his friend, another Bermudian. It was a surprise to me that he even knew any one else in Bermuda. Mr Albouy said he agreed and the friend bought a dozen three-packs of white shirts, four packets of diapers and two packets of baby wipes. He added he did not pay much attention to the items after they were bought and after two nights in Bristol he returned to his hotel near Birmingham with the goods and packed them into his suitcases. Mr Albouy said he didnt notice anything unusual about the items and was shocked when customs officers found the ecstasy, cannabis and cannabis resin inside them when he returned to Bermuda on September 3, 2017. He said: I couldnt believe there was something inside. I still wasnt sure what it was, but it was something I didnt know was there. I was thinking about how it could have gotten there. It went through my mind who could have placed this there. I was all over the place. I thought to myself there was no way my friend would have done something like this to me. Mr Albouy told Alan Richards, the Crown counsel, he took two large suitcases with him to the UK because he had thought he might go shopping and wanted the extra luggage space. But he said he did not buy much, which left him with enough space to accommodate his friends request. The defendant added he did not think it was unusual that his friend would buy 36 white shirts and did not notice they were in two different sizes. Mr Albouy said: I didnt see anything suspicious with it. I trusted him as a good friend and I know people who prefer to buy things in bulk when they travel. Mr Richards suggested that Mr Albouy knew what he was doing and what he had brought back to Bermuda. He said: I would suggest that nobody familiar with travel and with any common sense would accept these items without question to carry back to somebody they didnt even know. Anybody with an ounce of common sense would realize that this didnt add up. You were running a risk that I suggest nobody would seriously take. But Mr Albouy insisted that he had no idea what was hidden in the packages. He also denied that he told Customs officers that he had bought the goods, or that they were for one of his friends. Mr Richards also quizzed Mr Albouy about dirty laundry in one of his suitcases. Mr Albouy said he was ill on the flight to the UK and had been sick on his pants. He claimed he had planned to get the pants cleaned before he returned to the island, but did not get the chance. Mr Albouy denied that he used the soiled pants to cover the smell of cannabis hidden in the suitcase and that he used a deodorant spray when the second suitcase was opened and the smell of the drugs became apparent. The search of the diapers, shirts and baby wipes revealed about 2,957 grams of MDMA  also known as ecstasy, 1,633 grams of cannabis and 1,209 grams of cannabis resin. The drugs were estimated to have a street value of $236,540, $81,650 and $120,000 respectively. Mr Albouy has denied importation of the drugs and possession with intent to supply. The trial continues.

2019. March 29. Drugs discovered hidden in a Southampton mans luggage were worth more than $430,000, the Supreme Court heard yesterday. A jury heard that 2,957.7 grams of MDMA  also known as ecstasy  was found in a suitcase belonging to 25-year-old Edward Jaloni Albouy. Those drugs could fetch up to $236,540 if sold on the streets of Bermuda. Officers also found 1,633.4 grams of cannabis, worth up to $81,650, and 1,209.5 grams of cannabis resin, worth up to $120,000. Investigators found two DNA profiles on the drug packages, but the court heard Mr Albouy was not a match for either profile. He has denied charges he imported the controlled drugs with intent to supply. Detective constable Shannon Trott said that, as part of the investigation, he looked into Mr Albouys bank records. He told the court that on September 2, the day before Mr Albouy returned to Bermuda, his debit card was used to withdraw money from an ATM at a Birmingham branch of the Tesco supermarket chain in the UK. Under cross-examination by Susan Mulligan, who represents Mr Albouy, Mr Trott said requests were made for CCTV evidence from the store, but he had been told the request was unsuccessful. He added that it was not unusual for such requests to be fruitless. Mr Trott said: During these sorts of investigations we do make overseas inquiries. The results can be a bit of a mixed bag. Sometimes we get successful returns and some times we dont. He said the request was made through the National Crime Agency, and no efforts were made through the mutual legal assistance treaty. Mr Trott explained: That is a timely, intensive matter to undertake. Things like CCTV are generally only kept for a limited amount of time and when we go through that process, we often end up not getting the footage in time. The court has heard that Mr Albouy left the island on a flight to London on August 23, 2017, and returned on the evening of September 3, 2017. He was selected for a secondary search and a customs officer noticed the smell of cannabis when she opened one of his suitcases. Packages containing drugs were later found hidden in packets of diapers, baby wipes and shirts. Mr Albouy told customs officers he was surprised by the hidden packages and confirmed that he had bought the items from a Tesco. The trial continues.

2019. March 20. A woman was accused yesterday of handling a shotgun, a revolver and almost 500 rounds of ammunition Tonae Perinchief-Leader, 29, was charged in Magistrates Court with four offences, all alleged to have taken place in Sandys on July 6, 2015. The charges involve a Taurus revolver, a Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun and 485 rounds of ammunition of several different calibres. Ms Perinchief-Leader did not have to enter a plea as the case will be heard in the Supreme Court. Magistrate Tyrone Chin released Ms Perinchief-Leader on $25,000 bail and adjourned the case until May 1 in Supreme Court. She was also ordered to surrender her passport and report to Hamilton Police Station three times a week.

2019. March 14. A drug mule in the biggest heroin importation case tried in Bermuda was jailed yesterday for 30 years. Josef Vlcek was caught trying to smuggle nearly three kilograms of the drug, worth $9.55 million, after he arrived on a flight from London in September 2017. Vlcek, convicted by a jurys unanimous verdict on Monday, declined to comment through his interpreter before Puisne Judge Carlisle Greaves passed sentence. Mr Justice Greaves admitted that some will question why, in a case in which the defendant has killed no one, he received a sentence of 30 years. He added a sentence for premeditated gun murder by a gang member could be 35 years to life. The judge told the Supreme Court: The addictive and destructive nature of this drug perhaps brings it into the range of those who commit violence. A gangster may have taken the life of one person and affected by his action the lives of several others. I think it likewise with our drug dealers, particularly those who deal in particularly hard drugs. Diamorphine is at the high level of addictive drugs, surpassed only by fentanyl. It is said to be 50 times more lethal than cocaine. Mr Justice Greaves added: Although the violence is not direct in this case, it is still as cruel, in many cases, as the direct violence in homicide cases. He said the case was the greatest volume of heroin ever imported into Bermuda for which someone has been tried. He told Vlcek: In this jurisdiction, drug sentences are particularly heavy. There are good reasons for that. The motivation for bringing drugs into Bermuda is high because the profits are high. Perhaps some of the highest in the world. Those who take the risk to benefit from this lucrative market must take the responsibility of knowing that their penalty will be severe when caught. Vlcek, 49, from the Czech Republic, went on trial this month charged with the importation of diamorphine, the technical name for heroin and with possession of the drug with intent to supply. He will serve 30-year concurrent terms with time already spent in custody taken into account. Vlcek told the jury he was an artist and had planned to stage an exhibition of his work. He claimed he thought he was smuggling gold and jewels. The three packages of heroin stashed in the lining of his two suitcases were spotted by customs officers at the airport. Nicole Smith, representing the Crown, asked for a sentence of 20 to 25 years, with an extra 50 per cent added to reflect the seriousness of the case. Susan Mulligan, the defence lawyer, argued that sentencing should not be a mathematical exercise based on the amount of drugs, which Mr Justice Greaves said was more than four times bigger than the courts had dealt with before. Ms Mulligan said Vlcek was not a master manipulator but a lone man lured by the idea of having a great art exhibition. Ms Mulligan added: He is a foreign national who has already suffered being in a foreign culture, no contact with family and no one here to assist him. His time in custody has been and will continue to be very, very difficult. The defence highlighted the case of Janis Zegelis, a Latvian man jailed for 25 years in 2012 after he arrived in Bermuda in a boat with more than 164kg of cocaine and a firearm. But Mr Justice Greaves rejected the comparison and said Bermudas courts always gave harsher sentences for heroin which was a more lethal addictive drug. Ms Smith mentioned other cases in which drug couriers form overseas had been jailed and told the court that the narcotics trade had tempted defendants from jurisdictions afar. Omar Davy, a Jamaican national, was jailed for 18 years last month after he tried to bring 220 grams of heroin into the island.

2019. March 7. A man accused of trying to smuggle $9.5 million of heroin into Bermuda said he had no idea packages of the drug were hidden in his suitcase. Josef Vlcek, 49, told police in a recorded interview he had bought the bags in an East London market and had seen nothing unusual about them at the time. Mr Vlcek, from the Czech Republic, told police he flew to Bermuda for a holiday, but he had also wanted to find work on the island. He said he did not know how much his flight cost because another man had helped him pay for it, but he refused to identify him. A translator told officers: He says he doesnt want to get anybody else involved. He also said he didnt put the drugs in the case and he hates drugs. Mr Vlcek was arrested at LF Wade International Airport on September 23, 2017, after he arrived on a flight from London. The court previously heard that a customs officer noticed a bulge in the lining of one of his suitcases and an X-ray revealed packages hidden inside the bags lining. Three packages were found in his two suitcases containing a total of about 2.9 kilograms of heroin. As the trial continued, the jury were shown footage of a police interview of Mr Vlcek recorded after his arrest. During the interview, Mr Vlcek alternated between speaking to officers in English and talking through a local translator. Mr Vlcek said he was in London for several days before coming to Bermuda, and had recently spent time in South Africa, Tanzania and Germany. He said most of the trips were holidays, and that he usually tried to find work in the countries he visits. The translator said: He says he always finds a little job that pays for his travels. Mr Vlcek said he had intended to stay at a hotel in Bermuda and pay cash, but police said he only had $600 in cash. He told officers himself: I always find some job. If yes, then I will stay here. If not, go back. Asked about what kind of work he did, Mr Vlcek said: I can do anything. I can do gardening, I can do driving. I do whatever I find. He added that he had done some gardening work in London, but could not say who hired him and that he had thrown away his gardening clothes before flying to Bermuda. Mr Vlcek said he did not know anyone in Bermuda and did not realize he would need a work permit to be employed in Bermuda. He said he had no idea what the packages found in his suitcase contained, and that when he was shown the X-ray he initially believed the package contained gold or diamonds. One of the officers responded that he did not believe Mr Vlceks story. The officer said: You are saying that you want us to believe that you went to a gypsy vendor or a street vendor and you bought two suitcases with three kilograms of heroin and flew to Bermuda with no idea how much you had paid for your flight, no idea of how much you were going to spend in Bermuda and didnt research the fact that you couldnt work without a permit in Bermuda? The translator said: He said he doesnt know who put the drugs in the suitcase. The trial continues.

2019. March 6. The alleged importer of $9.5 million of heroin was on edge after he was detained at the airport, the Supreme Court heard yesterday. Susie Williams-Stovell, a customs officer, told the court that Josef Vlcek, then 47, was sweating and appeared nervous. She added: His chest was heaving fast. Ms Williams-Stovell was speaking on the second day of Mr Vlceks trial. She said that she was working at the airport the day Mr Vlcek arrived in Bermuda and that she had conducted an inspection of a suitcase carried by the defendant at about 7.07pm. Ms Williams-Stovell added: I saw a bulge in there under the lining. She said that Daniel Cardoso, another Customs officer, had cautioned Mr Vlcek. Ms Williams-Stovell said that she, Mr Cardoso and Mr Vlcek went into a search room, where the bag was inspected. She added: We revealed carbon paper so that you could see that there was a package. Ms Williams-Stovell said that she saw a brown powder under the paper. She said that Mr Cardoso then swabbed the outside of the package to test for the presence of drugs. Ms Williams-Stovell told the court: In this case it said heroin. She said that she and Mr Cardoso left the search room to X-ray the second bag at about 7.55pm. Ms Williams-Stovell added: We X-rayed the suitcase and you could see packages on the screen. Mr Vlcek, of the Czech Republic, has pleaded not guilty to the importation of about 2.9 kilograms of heroin on September 23, 2017 and possession of the drug with intent to supply. Detective Constable Shannon Trott said he transported the two suitcases from a secure storage area to the forensic lab at Southside Police Station the day after Mr Vlcek was detained. Mr Trott said: I searched the suitcases starting with the smaller bag. Upon opening the bag, I saw a package that was blue and silver in colour that had been pierced and an off-white powder was exposed. Mr Trott said that he removed the package and placed it in an evidence bag. The suitcase was also placed into an evidence bag. The trial continues.

2019. March 5. The alleged importer of $9.5 million of heroin was caught after customs officials spotted a bulge and traces of glue in the lining of one of his suitcases, the Supreme Court heard yesterday. Takiyah Simpson, for the Crown, told the court that Josef Vlcek, then 47, was detained by customs officers after he arrived at the airport on a flight from Britain with two suitcases. Ms Simpson said: He cleared immigration and proceeded to the customs baggage hall. where he made his way to the Green Channel. She added Mr Vleck was selected for a secondary inspection. She said: During the search of the first suitcase belonging to the defendant, the customs officer noticed a slight bulge and glue residue in the lining of his suitcase. Ms Simpson told jurors that the defendants two suitcases were scanned by an X-ray machine and anomalies were found. She said a customs officer pulled out some of the lining in one of the suitcases and removed a package wrapped in carbon paper. Ms Simpson added that the officer pulled back the paper and found a beige powder substance in a vacuum-sealed bag. She said that a scan done on the outside of the package showed traces of heroin. Ms Simpson added: The Bermuda Police Service were called and the defendant was arrested and he was later charged. Mr Vleck, of the Czech Republic, has pleaded not guilty to the importation of about 2.9 kilograms of heroin on September 23, 2017 and possession of the drug with intent to supply. Daniel Cardoso, a customs officer, told the court that he was working at the secondary desk at the airport when Mr Vleck arrived. He said that Mr Vleck had been flagged for a second inspection by another officer at about 7pm. Mr Cardoso said that Mr Vleck told him that he had travelled to Bermuda for a ten-day holiday. He said that the defendant told him that he was an artist and had flown to the island alone. Mr Cardoso asked if the two bags he was carrying belonged to him. Mr Vleck replied: Yes, they are mine. Mr Cardoso said that Mr Vleck told him that he had booked his flight and accommodation the day before. He added that he noticed a bulge on the outside of one of Mr Vlecks suitcases. He said: At this point I suspected that there was something in the bag. Mr Cardoso said that he called over another customs officer who pulled back lining inside the bag and exposed carbon paper. He said that he cautioned Mr Vleck, packed up his bag, and escorted him to an interview room. Mr Cardoso said Mr Vleck asked: Whats wrong with my bag? When we were outside, I think theres some problem. He added that he told Mr Vleck: Theres definitely a problem. The trial continues.

2019. February 28. A St Georges woman has been accused of smuggling more than $700,000 of cannabis into Bermuda. Renee Furbert, 27, was charged with importing cannabis resin, cannabis and tetrahydrocannabinol  the active ingredient in cannabis  into the island on January 11 last year. She was additionally charged with having the same drugs in St Georges with intent to supply. Ms Furbert did not enter a plea at Magistrates Court today because prosecutors have sent the matter to the Supreme Court. Prosecutors told the court the charges involve about $618,000 of cannabis, $48,000 of cannabis resin and $50,000 of tetrahydrocannabinol. Senior magistrate Juan Wolffe released Ms Furbert on $75,000 bail with two sureties. She was also ordered to surrender her travel documents. The matter will appear in the Supreme Court on April 1.

2019. February 28. The Supreme Court has upheld the conviction of a woman caught bringing acetyl fentanyl  a dangerous analogue of fentanyl  into Bermuda. Mandaya Thomas, 28, was convicted of the importation of 92 grams of the drug by magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo last March. But Thomas, from Pembroke, appealed on the grounds that acetyl fentanyl was not listed as a controlled drug before she was sentenced. Acetyl fentanyl is an opioid similar to fentanyl, which is 15 times more powerful than morphine. It has never been licensed for medical use in any country, but it has been sold illegally as a heroin substitute and has been linked to hundreds of deaths in Europe and the United States. Prosecutors argued that the chemical was a derivative of fentanyl, a controlled drug, which makes it illegal under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1972. But Marc Daniels, for Thomas, argued that there was insufficient evidence to prove the seized drugs were derived from fentanyl in a chemical sense. Puisne Judge Shade Subair Williams found the chemical was what mattered, rather than the process used to make it. She wrote in a February 19 ruling: In my judgment, this court need not, and ought not to be misled into a scientific analysis of how a substance was chemically manufactured. The purpose of the 1972 Act is to outlaw substances and products by reference to its final structure and not its ingredients. This approach might also be illustrated by the long history of this courts acceptance of evidence identifying other controlled substances by reference to its final composition as opposed to its creation. Mrs Justice Subair Williams dismissed the appeal and sent Thomas back to Magistrates Court for sentencing.

2019. February 26. A man found with almost $2.5 million of drugs in his home was jailed for 13 years yesterday. Jamal Robinson, 42, admitted possession of heroin, ecstasy, cocaine and cannabis resin with intent to supply after a search of his Warwick home. Robinson  who earlier served time for manslaughter  told the Supreme Court he was very, very sorry. He said: I have had a great upbringing and I chose to go against that and follow where other people go. Every time I have done it, I have gotten in trouble. I let my mother down, I let my family down and everybody that has been in my corner. That part of my life is over. Im ready to do my time and be a productive citizen of this country. Robinson was arrested on May 11, 2017, after a raid on his Warwick home. A search of the house revealed 293.03 grams of heroin, 405.2 grams of ecstasy, 55.48 grams of cocaine, 1.54 grams of crack cocaine, 1,486 grams of cannabis resin and 9.57 grams of cannabis. The combination of drugs were said to have a street value of $2,456,638. Officers also found $2,150 in cash and more than $20,000 worth of jewellery. Robinson later pleaded guilty to possessing the heroin, ecstasy, cocaine and cannabis resin with intent to supply, along with simple possession of cannabis. He also admitted possession of the proceeds of criminal activity. Prosecutors suggested a sentence of between 12½ and 14 years for the drug offences, plus an additional three to six months for the criminal proceeds. Mark Pettingill, for Robinson, said his client had expressed regret and that a sentence of about 12 years would be appropriate. Mr Pettingill said: I know from having extensive conversations with Mr Robinson that he is contrite and remorseful. He is determined to spend his time usefully so he can come out and contribute to society. Puisne Judge Carlisle Greaves said he saw no reason to stray from the sentence suggested by the Crown. He sentenced Robinson to serve 12½ years for the drug offences and six months for the criminal proceeds offence. Mr Justice Greaves ruled that the sentences should be consecutive. He also ordered the forfeiture of the $21,145 of jewellery, the $2,150 in cash and a $9,381 Rolex watch. The court heard Robinson had no previous convictions for drug offences, but was sentenced to ten years in jail for the killing of Jermaine Red Pitcher in 2000. Mr Pitcher died after a fight outside the former Champions nightclub on Reid Street. Prosecutors alleged that Robinson and another man held Mr Pitcher as he was stabbed repeatedly in the back. Robinson disputed the prosecutors version of events but pleaded guilty to manslaughter in 2001.

2019. February 21. A mother who admitted bringing $125,000 of cocaine into Bermuda was jailed for seven years yesterday. Deja Anee Richardson, 26, said she knew her suitcase contained hidden drugs, but believed the drug was cannabis not cocaine. She told Supreme Court: I just want to apologise to the court and my family for putting them through this. The court heard that on October 26, 2017, the Pembroke resident flew from the island to New Jersey via New York. She returned the next day with a suitcase and was selected for a secondary search. When her bag was X-rayed, officers noticed a suspicious discrepancy around its frame. A further examination of the suitcase revealed 11 packages hidden in the pull handle, wheel housing and the frame of the case. Tests showed the packages contained a total of 522.07 grams of cocaine with an estimated street value of $125,875. Richardson told police at the time: I made a dumb mistake trusting people. Maria Sofianos, Crown counsel, said Richardson expressed remorse for her actions in a social inquiry report and deserved some credit for her early admission of guilt. But Ms Sofianos also said a message needed to be sent to discourage others and suggested a sentence of about 7½ years. Charles Richardson, the defence lawyer, said a sentence of no more than six years would be appropriate. He said the defendant was a young mother who struggled financially in part because of her childs medical issues. Mr Richardson said: She was really in a bad position, one that wasnt entirely of her own making. She knows she has to go to prison. The question is for how long. Puisne Judge Carlisle Greaves said the defendant was reckless to assume the drugs hidden in the suitcase was cannabis without checking it. He said: She has to accept the consequences of her act. It has to be so. Mr Justice Greaves said he would give her a discount on her sentence because of her previous good character and early guilty plea. He sentenced Richardson to seven years in prison, with time already served taken into account.

2019. February 19. A Jamaican national who fled the airport during a customs search has been found guilty of smuggling heroin. Omar Davy, 38, was spotted on CCTV taking a package from the back of his pants and stashing it in an already-searched bag when he was briefly left alone. He told the Supreme Court that he had agreed to bring a package into Bermuda after his life and the lives of his family were threatened. Yesterday, after 30 minutes of deliberation, the 11-person jury found Davy guilty of drug importation. Davy was also convicted by a unanimous verdict of possession of a drug with intent to supply and obstruction of a customs officer. Puisne Judge Carlisle Greaves remanded him into custody until tomorrow, when he will be sentenced. Prosecutors alleged that Davy smuggled 220.88 grams of heroin, worth up to $765,700 if sold on the streets of Bermuda, into the island on July 10 last year. The court heard Davy, from Mandeville, Jamaica, arrived in Bermuda that afternoon on an Air Canada flight from Toronto. He was selected for a secondary search and, as his bags were being searched, a drug-sniffing dog indicated that he had an illegal substance on him. The customs officer involved in the search said Davy appeared to be nervous and was repeatedly pulling down his shirt and pulling up his pants. An inspection of his bags found nothing, but when the officer went to see her superior, Davy was seen on CCTV taking an object from his trousers and placing it in the searched bag. He then appeared to cover the object with clothes before the officer returned. Questioned by the customs officer, Davy said he had to deal with a traffic ticket in Bermuda and that he planned to stay with his girlfriend while on the island. Asked to write down her name, he wrote Dewight R. He was then asked for her full name, and claimed it was Dawnette Geed. Davy later ran out of the airport, leaving his bag behind, and led customs officers on a chase to the Causeway. He managed to flag down a truck, but a security guard on a motorcycle stopped the vehicle while it was still on the Causeway, and Davy was arrested. Davy told the court that on the day before his flight, he was abducted by a group of men at gunpoint over a $24,000 debt he had to a Jamaican don. He told the court the men forced him into a waiting SUV, where they put a black cloth over his head. They then choked and beat him for 20 minutes as they drove him to another location. There, Davy said he was beaten until he could barely stand, then choked unconscious. Davy said that after he was awoken by further blows, he agreed to bring a package to Bermuda. He told the court the men had threatened not only his life, but the lives of his family in Jamaica. The men then drove him to Pearson International Airport in time for his flight. Davy said on the plane he took the package from the laptop case where the men left it, and debated leaving it on the plane. Instead, he said he put it in the back of his pants. Davy said he had no idea what was in the package, and ran out of the airport because he panicked. Alan Richards, Crown counsel, called Davys story a movie script made up to escape conviction. Mr Richards asked Davy how he was able to outrun customs officers hours after he was beaten to the point he could barely stand, and why his attackers had left more than $1,500 in his wallet if they wanted money. The prosecutor also highlighted that a police officer present during a strip-search of Davy hours after his arrest saw no bruises, cuts or swelling. Archibald Warner, defence lawyer for Davy, said the prosecutors had failed to prove that the defendant knew the packages contained an illegal drug. Mr Warner also argued that Davy had acted under extreme duress.

 Update: When the Crown opened its case, it told the Supreme Court the estimated value of the seized heroin was $647,900. During the course of the trial a police analyst gave a revised figure of $765,700, as reported in this story.

2019. February 16. A man accused of smuggling $649,900 worth of heroin to Bermuda told a jury yesterday he was forced to bring the drugs to the island by a Jamaican don who threatened to kill his family. Omar Davy, 38, said he was kidnapped and beaten by a group of men over a $24,000 debt related to architectural drawings hours before he was to fly to Bermuda. He added: I was fearful and I was nervous that if I didnt agree that they were going to start hitting me and choking me again. I feared for my life. I thought the only way out was to agree and I did. Mr Davy, a Jamaican national, denies importation of the drugs, possession with intent to supply and wilful obstruction of a customs officer on July 10 last year. He told the Supreme Court he was an architectural draftsman and worked from his home in the countrys Manchester Parish. He added he had done work for several politicians and dons, who the court heard were community leaders often tied to criminal activity. Mr Davy said he was paid $24,000 by a don for a design job in February 2016, but never delivered the work. He explained he had left Jamaica a month after taking the job and flew to Bermuda in June or July of that year. He said he was wrongly arrested in Bermuda and police seized his laptop and a thumb-drive containing his work for the don. When he received the computer back eight months later, the work was gone. Mr Davy said in the months before his arrest, he was in Scarborough, Canada on a visit to family members. He said he had bought a ticket to fly to Bermuda on July 10 to deal with a traffic ticket, but the day before he was confronted by two men outside his brothers house. Mr Davy said the men showed him videos of his family and one of the men made a video call and he recognized the voice of the man on the phone as the don. He said: When I heard the voice of the don I knew in my mind what this was all about. Mr Davy told the court the men took his suitcases and documents and forced him at gunpoint into the back of an SUV. He said one of the men pulled a black cloth over his head and began to choke him. Mr Davy added the men continued to choke and hit him for about 20 minutes as they drove him to another location, where he heard a garage door close. He said he was pulled from the van and battered again, then taken to a basement and choked until he was unconscious. Mr Davy added that after he came round one of the men told him that he was going to take a package with him to Bermuda, and put an object in a book inside his laptop case. Mr Davy said the men told him to take the package out and tape it to his legs after he got through customs and drove him to Torontos Pearson International Airport in time for his flight. Mr Davy told the court he passed Canadian customs, but when he was on the plane he considered leaving the package in the plane. But he said he slid it down the back of his pants instead. He added that when he was taken for a secondary search in Bermuda, he panicked. Mr Davy said: I was nervous. I was distressed. I was worried. Lots of thoughts were going through my mind. My family was on my mind. I was panicked and ran. I didnt know what to do. I was terrified. I thought of killing myself. But Alan Richards, for the Crown, said Mr Davys story was a film script filled with lies. Mr Davy told Mr Richards that he had $1,500 in US cash along with several hundred Canadian dollars in his wallet when he was abducted, but that none of the money was taken. He also admitted he had accepted the job from the don in April, not February as he had testified earlier. Mr Richards questioned how Mr Davy could be badly assaulted until he could barely stand and hours later was able outrun several Bermuda customs officers. Detective Constable Jeffrey Blaire, the officer in charge of the case, told the court he was present when Mr Davy was strip-searched after his arrest. He said Mr Davy had no scratches, bruises, open wounds or swelling and had not complained of pain or discomfort. The trial continues.

2019. February 15. A man charged with smuggling $647,900 of heroin into Bermuda was seen stashing a package in his bag after it had been searched by a customs officer, the Supreme Court was told yesterday. Witnesses said the man, Omar Davy, 38, ran from the airport minutes later and left the bag behind. Two taped-together packages were later found in the bag. The packages contained a total of 220.88 grams of heroin. Mr Davy, from Jamaica, denied charges of importation of the drug, possession with intent to supply and wilful obstruction of a customs officer. Sharjan Rumley, a customs officer, testified that she was on duty at the LF Wade International Airport on July 10 last year, when Mr Davy arrived on the island. She said Mr Davy was sent to her desk around lunchtime for a secondary search after he got off an Air Canada flight from Toronto. Ms Rumley told the court Mr Davy said he had come to Bermuda to visit his girlfriend and deal with a traffic ticket. She said he appeared to be nervous and kept pushing his shirt down and pulling his pants up continuously. A search of his bag turned up nothing suspicious but a drug-sniffer dog indicated that Mr Davy had drugs on his person. Ms Rumley said she went to her supervisor twice, the second time to get permission to conduct a personal search. But before the search could take place, Mr Davy fled, chased by customs officers. CCTV footage of the incident showed that after Ms Rumley walked away the first time, Mr Davy pulled an object out of his pants and put it in his bag. He was also seen to cover the object with clothing. Ms Rumley told Archibald Warner, defence lawyer for Mr Davy, that she did not see the package when she came back to the search bench. Mr Warner suggested that Mr Davy had asked her not to say anything, which she denied. Ms Rumley said: I would have informed my senior officer of my findings and what he said. Macio Talbot, a trainee customs officer, told the court he chased Mr Davy out of the airport and into the car park, where he said the defendant tried to get into a car. He said: He opened the door. It was the drivers side. I cannot remember if there was any one in the vehicle. I dont believe there was. Mr Talbot said Mr Davy ran through a gate into an area he referred to as the helipad, near the roundabout that led to the airport. He shut the gate in an attempt to trap Mr Davy, but realised the fence was open on the side closest to the water. Mr Talbot said: There were many ways he could still exit. There was no gate on the water side to hold him in. He went on to the temporary bridge and flagged down an oncoming truck. I yelled to the driver not to let him in but I figured I was out of range for him to hear. Craig Burchall told the court he was behind the wheel of the truck that Mr Davy flagged down. He said: As I started driving, I noticed he was a little rattled. Nervous. He was kind of anxious. I asked him if he was OK. He looked a little stressed. He said he was stressed. I asked him if I could pray for him, and he said yes. Mr Burchall said he continued to drive, but before he could get off the Causeway a motorcycle overtook him and forced him to stop. He said Mr Davy told him to keep going. He said: Thats when alarms started going off in my head. I couldnt figure out what was going on. Mr Burchall said the rider  who was wearing a blue shirt and black pants  signaled to Mr Davy to get out. The court heard the man on the motorcycle was Zeko Burgess, who worked at the airport for Bermuda Security Group. Mr Burgess said he was leaving to go on break when he saw customs officers and others chasing a man out of the arrivals area. He added in a written statement read to the court that he got on his bike when he was told the man they were chasing had flagged down a blue truck, which was on the Causeway. Mr Burgess said he rode on to the Causeway, overtook a series of vehicles and forced the truck to stop. He said: The passenger was hesitant to get out but he did. He said he wanted to jump overboard. I told him it wasnt worth it. Mr Burgess said he left the area when the man was arrested by police. The trial continues.

2019. February 2. A woman denied conspiracy to import more than $45,000 worth of drugs yesterday. It was alleged in Magistrates Court that Kenneita Wade, 32, attempted to bring about 897 grams of cannabis and 24 capsules of methamphetamine  crystal meth  into Bermuda. The incident is alleged to have happened on December 27, 2017. Senior magistrate Juan Wolffe adjourned the case until March 4 and released Ms Wade, of Warwick, on $5,000 bail with the condition that she did not leave the island.

2019. January 31. The family of a man shot dead has lost a legal attempt to recover $5,000 seized by US Customs officers a year before he was killed. The Supreme Court heard that Morlan Steede was stopped at the airport on January 22, 2016 as he tried to fly to Jamaica via Miami. He showed officers a forged document that appeared to be from the Jamaica Constabulary Force, which said he was not in the Jamaica criminal database. But Steede, a Jamaican national, was denied permission to enter the US after the US officials discovered he had served six months behind bars for drug possession. Mr Steede also told officers he had $3,000 in cash on him, but a search revealed $7,000 in US cash without any supporting documents to explain the purpose of the money. The money was subsequently seized under the Proceeds of Crime Act. Mr Steede later told police that his wife, Martseeyah Jones, had given him $5,000 to make a down payment on a house in Jamaica for her and her sisters. He said the remaining $2,000 was a gift from his father, Richard Steede. But Puisne Judge Shade Subair Williams said in a written judgment: It cannot be ignored that Morlan Steede willfully attempted to deceive the US customs officers about the sum of cash on his person when he was at the airport. It is certainly inconceivable that he was genuinely mistaken about the fact that he was traveling with $7,000 cash. The judgment, released this month, added: The dishonest conduct of Morlan Steede did not stop there. He clearly presented a fraudulent document to the authorities with the purpose of making the relevant officers believe that he had not previously been convicted of a criminal offence. Mrs Justice Subair Williams said: The irresistible inference is that his efforts to conceal and deceive were deliberate and pre-calculated. Mr Steede, 30, from Hamilton Parish, was shot in the Deepdale area of Pembroke on November 3, 2017. The seized money case was considered by Magistrates Court six months later and prosecutors asked for the money to be forfeited. Magistrates Court heard at the time that Ms Jones told police that she and her sister, Rita Jones, had each given Steede $2,500 for investment purposes. Richard Steede told police he had given his son $2,000 to give to his sons mother to support a bus transport business. Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo ruled the $2,000 should be returned to Richard Steede but that the $5,000 remainder should be forfeited. However, the family launched a legal action in the Supreme Court in a bid to overturn the judgment. Neither Martseeyah or Rita Jones took part in the hearing, but Richard Steede appeared as the representative of his sons estate. Mrs Justice Subair Williams said in her judgment that the evidence that the $5,000 was intended for criminal conduct was strong. She added that the conflict in stories about the $5,000 made the claim that the money was intended for investment unworthy of belief. But Mrs Justice Subair Williams said there was some doubt about the $2,000 and upheld the magistrates decision to return the money to Richard Steede.

2019. January 31. A social inquiry report was ordered on a teenager caught in possession of cannabis with intent to supply. JahDimon Parkes, 17, admitted the offence at Magistrates Court this week. The court heard that Parkes, from Pembroke, was arrested in the parish on a separate matter on July 25 last year and searched. Police found a plastic bag with 18 twist bags inside that contained a gum-like substance, later found to be cannabis. Senior magistrate Juan Wolffe adjourned the case until March 15.

2019. January 4. Two American students were shown leniency by a magistrate yesterday after they said they could not pay a $4,000 fine for drugs offences. Magistrates Court heard that first-time visitors Kyla Beckford and her boyfriend, Berlino Felix, both 22, were arrested at the airport when they arrived for a holiday on December 29. The couples luggage was picked for a search and the couple told customs officers they had cannabis in their possession. The search found 27 gummies, which were later found to contain THC, the active ingredient of cannabis, as well as about 20 grams of cannabis. The pair, who had planned to stay until January 4, said the drugs were for personal use. The couple, from Boston, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty to two charges each of importation of a controlled drug. The court heard Beckford and Felix could be fined $1,000 each on both counts  a total of $4,000. Beckford and Felix, who fought back tears in court, told Magistrate Tyrone Chin they could not afford the fines. Beckford said her parents could not help and she was due to return to college later this month and risked being trapped on the island. She added: I am deeply apologetic. This is a lesson to me. Felix said: I am deeply sorry; this wont ever happen again. Beckford added that she would use her experience to ensure other young people did not make the same mistake. The court heard that it was the pairs first time abroad and that they were not aware of the laws of Bermuda. The court also heard that marijuana is legal in Massachusetts. Mr Chin told the pair: We have to have something to deter others. But he cut the fines in half, a reduction of $2,000, and ordered Felix and Beckford to pay $1,000 each before they left the island. Mr Chin said: I think you have learnt a lesson as young adults.

2018. December 28. A 26-year-old woman was jailed for nine months yesterday after she admitted a bid to smuggle more than $45,000 worth of cannabis resin to Bermuda. Magistrates Tyrone Chin heard that Sheneal Harris was arrested at the airport with 457.49 grams of the drug. Harris, of Pembroke, at first denied the offence but changed her plea before trial. She told the court she used cannabis to treat chronic back pain. Harris said: I understand my wrongdoing. Im really sorry and Im not going to do anything like that ever again. She added that since the incident she had passed several courses at Bermuda College and aimed to become a nurse. Harris told the court: Doing time would really put it back. Cindy Clarke, for the prosecution, said a sentence of between six months and one year, along with a period of probation, was appropriate. But Mark Daniels, the defence counsel, argued that a sentence suspended in part or whole was a suitable penalty. He said Harris had admitted guilt and regretted her actions. Mr Daniels said: She took a stupid gamble and she lost. He said Harris was a young woman who wanted to get her life together after a difficult upbringing. Mr Daniels added a short, sharp shock might be appropriate. Magistrate Tyrone Chin also ordered that Harris should serve two years on probation after the jail term.

2018. December 14, A wedding planner from the United States was fined a total of $2,000 yesterday after he admitted drugs charges. Magistrates Court heard Yervad Zaratsian was arrested on suspicion of possession of controlled drugs at the airport as he attempted to return to America. Magistrate Tyrone Chin was told Zaratsian, 47, from California, arrived on the island on December 1 for a three-day wedding conference. He was searched by US Customs officers as he attempted to leave Bermuda on December 6 and was found to have cannabis oil, the party drug ecstasy and electronic vaping cartridges in his luggage. Zaratsian told officials the pills were prescription drugs and the liquid was a sedative, but tests showed they were banned drugs. He later told police that he used the drugs to escape the pressures of work. Arion Mapp, defence counsel for Zaratsian, said it was a small amount of drugs and had been brought to Bermuda by accident. He added the amount of cannabis oil found was less than seven millilitres. Mr Mapp added that the defendant had admitted the offences and had no previous convictions. Nicole Smith, for the Crown, pointed out Zaratsian had admitted to police he used drugs to cope with stress. Mr Chin fined Zaratsian $500 for importation of the cannabis oil, and $750 each on the ecstasy and vaping cartridges charges. The defendant was ordered to pay the fines before he left Bermuda.

2018. November 29. A seaman jailed for smuggling drugs and guns to Bermuda has lost an appeal to reduce his sentence. Romonito Adlawan was sentenced to spend 8½ years behind bars after he admitted money laundering, importing a firearm and importing cannabis in 2015. However, the Filipino argued he should have received a lower sentence on account of his efforts to assist police and prosecutors. The Court of Appeal however found Adlawan had already received a high discount given his admission that he had smuggled contraband to Bermuda before. Appeal Judge Geoffrey Bell wrote in a judgment: In the circumstances, it seems to me that Adlawan was perhaps fortunate at sentencing, and the sentences imposed by the sentencing judge should not be varied by this court, even taking into account the evidence he gave at trial. The Court heard Adlawan had been a seaman on the MV Somers Isles cargo ship when he was recruited to bring drugs to Bermuda in February 2015. He told investigators he made his first pick-up that month, and others in March and April that year. Adlawan was arrested in Bermuda on May 5, 2015 with $228,500 of cannabis and a 40 caliber Smith & Wesson pistol with 11 rounds of ammunition. The Court heard Adlawan was paid between $3,500 and $7,000 for the earlier deliveries, and expected to receive $8,000 for the final delivery. Adlawan pleaded guilty that June and later gave evidence in court against Kimisha Perinchief and Jermaine Butterfield, who had been arrested for the same importation plot. He was sentenced to serve 5½ years for the firearm offence and three years for the drugs offence, with the sentences to run consecutively. Marc Daniels, representing Adlawan, argued his client should have received a 50 per cent discount for additional assistance given to investigators. The 