(Jamaica Observer) A female St Andrew minister of religion who was recently caught trying to leave the island with 113 pellets of ganja in her stomach was yesterday sentenced to 18 months in prison when she appeared in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate’s Court.
Joan Elaine Brown, 54, who is a member of the Mount Sinai Revival Church in Bull Bay, was also fined J$19,200 after she pleaded guilty to drug charges before Senior Magistrate Judith Pusey. If the fine is not paid she will spend a further six months in prison.
A remorseful-looking Brown told the court yesterday that she committed the offense after she was advised that it was the only solution to the problems she was facing.
“I was going through a situation and a lady approached me in February and told me this was the only way,” she said.
Brown said after contemplating the decision, she wanted to change her mind, but the lady purchased her plane ticket and followed her to the airport.
“I didn’t really want to go through with it but I was fearful for my life,” she added.
Brown was given the option to pay a fine of J$2,400 for possession of ganja, J$4,800 for dealing in ganja, and J$12,000 for taking steps to export ganja or serve six months in prison on each charge.
In addition she was also given a one-year mandatory sentence and another six months for conspiracy to export the drug.
Brown was arrested on September 2 at the Norman Manley International Airport while preparing to board a flight to Trinidad and Tobago.
She was stopped and searched and during an interview confessed that she swallowed the drugs.
Brown was taken to the Kingston Public Hospital where she expelled the pellets.
