An American man who was convicted of importing 0.09 grams of fentanyl has been sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison.
Adrian Scales, 27, is the first to be jailed in Cayman for importing the opioid painkiller, after it was discovered in powder form in his backpack upon arrival at the Owen Roberts International Airport on 4 Oct. 2022.
When handing down her ruling, Magistrate Philippa McFarlane told Scales that she found the sentencing exercise difficult for multiple reasons.
Strong enough to kill 45 adults
Under normal circumstances, judges consider the quantity of drugs when sentencing a defendant for Class A substances. However, according to the judge, the lethal potential of the most minute amounts of fentanyl posed a challenge in this case.
“The quantity imported by this defendant was potentially fatal enough to kill 45 adults,” said McFarlane, who referred to medical reports provided by the Health Services Authority, which referenced the findings of the US Food and Drug Administration.
According to McFarlane, the expert evidence that was presented to her suggested that as much as 2 milligrams of fentanyl, which is a Class A drug, is enough to kill one adult. Scales was intercepted with 45 times as much.
“Although the potency of the drug was not field tested, as officers did not want to risk their own safety, there can be no question that even a small quantity of this lethal drug can result in the highest level of harm,” she said.
First-of-its-kind sentencing
This issue was further complicated by the fact that this was a first-of-its-kind sentencing exercise for Cayman’s courts.
When arriving at her starting point, McFarlane noted that she had used sentencing guidelines for hard drugs such as cocaine, implemented by former Chief Justice Anthony Smellie.
“In this instance, I find that a starting point of eight years is appropriate give the quantity and the potential lethality of the drug in question,” said McFarlane.
From that starting point, she noted that there were no significant aggravating circumstances that warranted an uplift to the sentence. She noted instead that there were two primary mitigating factors that would constitute a reduction in the sentence.
“Firstly, I consider that significant community contribution of this defendant as reflected in his numerous references,” said McFarlane. “I also take into account the fact that at the time of this offence he was of previous good character.”
For the above reasons, she reduced the sentence by 18 months, leaving a sentence of six years and six months in jail, which is to be further reduced by anytime he has spent in custody pending his sentencing.
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