A male student who tried to smuggle three pounds of ganja to Barbados concealed in his waist and in his anus was sentenced to two months in prison and fined $36,000.

Kareem Webber, who had previously pleaded guilty to breaches of the Dangerous Drugs Act, was sentenced by Senior Parish Judge Andrea Pettigrew-Collins when he appeared for sentencing in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court on Monday.

He was held at the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston on February 3 and found with the drugs after a police officer noticed a bulge in his waist.

The bulge, when checked, turned out to be a parcel wrapped in brown masking tape containing ganja.

The court also heard that after the drug was found Webber told the police that he had an insert but refused to go to the Kingston Public Hospital and voluntarily pulled another parcel from his anus.

When cautioned he reportedly said, “Mi do it cause mi want financial help.”

Webber’s attorney, Patrick Peterkin, during his plea in mitigation, said that his client made a mistake and was very sorry for his action. He also pointed out that based on the social enquiry report Webber had great potential and had deviated from his norm.

Peterkin then asked the judge to consider giving his client a probation sentence while highlighting that he had no previous conviction and was still very young.

However, the judge said that Webber acted out of greed, as he was still living with his parents who took care of his expenses, including his school fee, which he claimed was the reason he wanted the money.

“He wants too much too quickly,” Judge Pettigrew-Collins said before handing down the sentence.

In addition to the 60-day mandatory sentence, Webber was ordered to pay $12,000 or serve three months for possession of ganja and $24,000 or six months for taking steps to export ganja.

— Tanesha Mundle