A man was sentenced to four years in jail on Wednesday when he pleaded guilty to a charge of possession of over five pounds of cannabis for trafficking.
Ryan Marks, 27, was also fined $2.3 million as a result of his guilty plea.
Marks was one of two men who had been intercepted at Bourda by ranks of the Customs-Anti Narcotic Unit (CANU) and subsequently charged.
Marks and Akeem Henry, 25, of Bent Street, Werk-en-Rust, were both arraigned before Principal Magistrate Judy Latchman, who presided virtually from the Diamond Magistrate’s Court.
The charge, which was read separately to the defendants, alleged that on June 14, 2022, at Orange Walk, Bourda, they each had in their possession 2.65 kilogrammes of cannabis.
While Marks pleaded guilty, Henry, a father of one, pleaded not guilty. However, due to having pending matters of similar nature in the court, he was refused bail and remanded until July 20, 2022.
According to the facts heard in the court, CANU was conducting a narcotic operation at Orange Walk, Bourda on Tuesday, and Marks was spotted in the presence of Henry, who was holding a green shopping bag.
A search was conducted on the bag and five ‘brick-like’ parcels were seen. The parcels were said to have contained a quantity of leaves, seeds and stems, which was later confirmed to be 2.65 kilogrammes (just over 5.8 pounds) of cannabis. The cannabis has a reported street value of $800,000
The prosecutor said that while in custody, Marks gave a written statement and later admitted possession of the narcotics.
