May 22, 2023
Retired nurse gets 10 months for cocaine smuggling
A 59-year-old retired nurse from Birmingham, England, is one of the two Britons sentenced on Friday after an unsuccessful attempt to smuggle cocaine onto a flight destined for England.
Loran Bartley pleaded guilty to the charges of possession, dealing, and attempting to export 11 pounds of cocaine.
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Bartley’s lawyer, Shelly-Ann Hyman, told Parish Judge Sasha-Marie Smith-Ashley that her client’s poor health was a contributing factor in his choice to engage in the trafficking of illegal drugs.
“Mr Bartley has indicated from the outset a willingness to accept responsibility for what has happened. He indicated that he suffers from ill health and was also in dire financial straits, and from my observation he is a very unwell person,” Hyman said, noting that Bartley is asthmatic and suffers from poor circulation and bipolar disorder.
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“We are asking the court to be as lenient as it can be, taking into consideration his ill health as well as his financial limitations. He was extremely desperate, and it is unfortunate that sometimes desperation causes us to do things that we would not normally do,” Hyman added.
While delivering the judgment, Judge Smith-Ashley pointed out that criminals have to face the consequences of their actions.
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“You will not be the first to be in a desperate situation. If you choose to take a criminal path you must be prepared to face the consequences,” Smith-Ashley told Bartley.
In addition to the 10-month sentence Bartley was fined $500,000 or six months in prison for possession of cocaine, and $1 million or six months for attempting to export cocaine. The sentences are to run consecutively if the fines are not paid. He was admonished and discharged for dealing in cocaine.
The court was told that on May 6, Bartley checked in at Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, St James, to board a flight to Birmingham. During a routine security screening anomalies were detected in his carry-on bag, and both the bag and his suitcase were examined and subsequently found to have false compartments containing a white powdery substance resembling cocaine. He was subsequently arrested and charged.
Meanwhile, 49-year-old Burthland Hodges, also of Birmingham, was remanded until June 16 when his bail application, which began on Friday, will continue.
The police had reported that following the arrests of Bartley and Bradly, who received similar sentences, further investigation led cops to take Hodges into custody.
Police allege that Hodges was a co-conspirator in the matter and was the organiser of smuggling the contraband that was found in Bradly’s possession.
They allege that Hodges would source the drug locally and distribute it to carriers.
During the investigation Hodges was arrested in St Ann and was later charged with conspiracy to export cocaine.
He has denied the allegations.
