Two men who were caught importing 435 pounds of ganja into Cayman have entered guilty pleas in Summary Court.
On 11 March 2024, Garth Nelson Forrest, 59, and Richard Lewis Atkinson, 38, both of Jamaica, were caught aboard a blue-and-grey drug canoe, by officers of the Cayman Islands Coast Guard.
An initial statement released by a police spokesperson said that two men had been engaging in “what appeared to be criminal activity”.
Appearing before the court via video link on Tuesday, 9 April, both men entered guilty pleas to a single count of importation of ganja.
“My client is familiar to these courts having being convicted of similar charges before,” said Forrest’s attorney Amelia Fosuhene during a brief hearing, as she requested a social inquiry report be prepared on him.
No charges for exotic birds
In addition to the several hundred pounds of ganja, the men were also found in possession of two exotic birds – believed to be yellow-crowned Amazon parrots.
The birds, which were seized by police and turned over to the Department of Agriculture, remain in quarantine.
Neither Atkinson nor Forrest has been charged in relation to importation of the animals, and as such did not enter any pleas.
Both men were remanded into custody and are due to return to court next month to be sentenced.
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