A taxi driver got sentenced yesterday to five years in jail and fined over $38 million after he was found guilty of trafficking cannabis amounting to 76.6 kilos (equivalent to 168.87 pounds).
Andre Abel, 36, shook his head in disbelief when he heard that Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan had found him guilty of trafficking the cannabis, which he was caught with on December 3, 2015, at Mandela Avenue, Georgetown.
According to the Chief Magistrate, she was satisfied with the prosecution’s evidence, which showed that Abel knew that he was in his possession of the illegal drug and that he used his car to transport it. She said that she also believed that when Abel was caught with the drugs, he told the police “let me arrange a bread,” which proved that he was fully aware that he had the drugs in his car.
The Chief Magistrate further noted that the court disbelieved that Abel had no idea he had the drug. According to the magistrate, all the elements of the offence were proven by the prosecution.
After Abel was found guilty as charged, attorney Adrian Thompson, in his mitigation plea, told the court that it was his client’s first offence and, therefore, the minimum sentence should be given to him.
Abel’s sentence was handed down immediately by the Chief Magistrate, who sentenced him to five years and imposed the fine of $38,300,000.
