An American woman who arrived in Cayman to celebrate Valentine’s Day was fined $300 by the Summary Court after she was caught trying to leave the jurisdiction with just under 30 grams of ganja.
When explaining the circumstances that led to the discovery of the ganja, prosecutor Hema Soondarsingh said the woman was stopped at the Cayman Airways ticket counter on 16 Feb. while attempting to check in for her return flight to Florida when Customs and Border Control officers detected the ganja.
“When officers asked her what was in her luggage, she told them her clothes and a little bit of weed,” said Soondarsingh. “While searching the luggage, they found vegetable matter suspected to be ganja, wrapped in a transparent bag and tucked into her shoes. The vegetable matter was tested and later confirmed to be ganja.”
Soondarsingh told the court that the woman said she was unaware that recreational use of ganja was illegal in the Cayman Islands.
“She told officers that on previous trips to Cayman, she observed people smoking weed on the public beaches, and assumed it was legal,” said Soondarsingh. “She also told officers she brought the ganja from the US for her personal use and, like previous cases, she packed the unfinished portion back into her suitcase to take it back with her.”
The defendant’s attorney, Stacey-Ann Kelly, told the court the 31-year-old mother of two was keen to leave Cayman and hoped for the matter to be disposed of by way of a “special result” – meaning no conviction.
“My client was in Cayman for Valentine’s Day to meet up with her partner who works on board a cruise ship,” said Kelly. “She was forthcoming when the ganja was found, and told officers that when she travels she wraps the ganja up and conceals it in her shoes so that the baggage handlers don’t nick her stash.”
Kelly added, “My client is unable to pay a fine at this time, because a substantial amount of cash was taken from her at the time of her arrest, so we are asking that the court considers imposing a custodial sentence that reflects the time she has already served in custody.”
“We would also ask the court to return her passport, her phone and other belongings including the cash, and, given the circumstances, a special result.”
Chief Magistrate Valdis Foldats, who presided over the matter, ordered that the passport be returned, and imposed a fine of $300 or one day in prison in lieu of the fine. However, he declined to order that the money be returned, after the prosecution warned that there were ongoing investigations around the cash being proceeds of criminal activity.
“I will provide a special result and record no conviction,” said Foldats. “However, your client should have taken the time to properly research the laws of the country. It’s a simple [internet] search and, furthermore, even if it is legal in her state, the transportation of ganja outside a state is a federal crime.”
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