Former Customs and Border Control officer Edree Fisher has been jailed for nine months for conspiring to import more than six pounds of ganja into Cayman through the airport, after being caught on her fifth such effort.
Fisher was initially given a sentence of 18 months; however, sentencing Justice Marlene Carter suspended half the term of imprisonment to reflect personal mitigating circumstances; one of which is the fact that Fisher is the primary caregiver of two young children, one of whom suffers from a serious undisclosed illness.
Her sentence arose from a single charge of conspiracy to import a controlled drug, ganja, into Cayman. She was arrested on 14 May 2018 and eventually charged on 15 Dec. 2021, to which she pleaded not guilty.
Her trial was called off in September 2022, after she changed her plea to guilty.
When sentencing her on Wednesday, 18 Jan., Carter said, “This defendant’s role was a leading one… she abused her position of trust and power as a Customs and Border Control officer.”
Carter added, “She was a central cog in the infrastructure, and her intimate knowledge of the CBC’s procedures ensured the seamless entry of the illegal drugs through the Owen Roberts International Airport. Her conduct was sustained and undermined the CBC’s efficacy of drug detection.”
The details surrounding how the conspiracy came to light, as well as Fisher’s previous smuggling efforts, were not read out in open court at the time, nor were the names of her fellow conspirators.
The exact amount of the drugs that Fisher was able to help smuggle into Cayman is unknown; however, Carter noted that if the same quantity of 6.48 pounds was smuggled in during all five attempts, then at minimum Fisher would have helped to smuggle more than 30 pounds of ganja into Cayman.
Carter initially stated with a sentence of three years, having noted that the maximum sentence for conspiring to import ganja was four years.
The three-year sentence was then reduced by 25% to reflect her guilty plea. The customary 30% reduction was not given due to the late plea.
The remaining two years and three months were further cut by three months for the personal mitigating circumstances, which was followed by an additional reduction of six months for the delay between Fisher’s 2018 arrest and her 2023 sentencing.
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