Man jailed for smuggling cocaine in canned cheese

A 35-year-old man, who is believed to have been the mastermind behind a failed attempt to import 22 ounces of cocaine in a can of ‘Tastee Cheese’ has been jailed for 11 years.

Andre Caine, who is originally from Jamaica and was residing in the Rock Hole area of George Town, was arrested in April 2020.

According to court documents, Customs and Border Control officers during their routine inspections came across the can of cheese in the luggage of Odain Davis, who arrived at the Owen Roberts International Airport on a Cayman Airways flight from Kingston, Jamaica, on 20 April 2020.

“The Customs officer became suspicious of the weight of the can of Jamaican Tastee Cheese and asked the opinion of his colleagues, who agreed that the can felt a bit heavier. As a result, Davis and the can of cheese were taken to a CBC search room,” reads the summary of facts.

A search of Davis, 30, revealed nothing of interest, the court documents state, so the officers proceeded to examine the can of cheese. When they opened it, they found “a white substance wrapped in clear plastic resembling cocaine covered with a thin layer of cheese”.

According to the court documents, the white substance was later confirmed to be 22 ounces of cocaine, weighing nearly three times the standard small can of Tastee Cheese, which weighs 8 ounces, according to its manufacturer.

Trail leads to Andre Caine

After the drugs were discovered, Davis is said to have told officers that he was simply carrying the suitcase to Cayman as a request from a friend – identified as Joseph Caine, 27, of Jamaica, who was later arrested.

Caine denied any knowledge of the failed drug smuggling, saying he asked Davis to carry the suitcase as a favour for his cousin Andre Caine.

Upon his arrest, Andre Caine also denied any knowledge of the drug.

He was convicted of two counts of importation of a controlled drug following a Grand Court trial in January 2022, and was sentenced to 11 years in prison in May. His sentence was reduced by 114 days for time spent in custody and on an electronic monitor tag.

Davis and Joseph Caine were also charged, and eventually acquitted by the jury.