western bureau

After almost two years of contesting ganja-related charges in the Montego Bay Resident Magistrate's Court, three Canadians, who were held with more than 76 kilograms (160 pounds) of the drug in the form of hashish, were sentenced to 18 months in prison on Monday after they were found guilty of the charges.

The verdict was handed down on October 10 after months of delays in the trial.

Lennox Rodriguez, 49, his brother Mark Rodriguez, 47, and 33-year-old Muhammad Doonai, were arrested in December 2006. They were granted bail on August 10, 2007, after spending nine months in custody.

They were again remanded when Resident Magistrate Winsome Henry found them guilty of possession, dealing and attempting to export ganja.

Plead guilty

In passing sentence, RM Henry said had the men pleaded guilty, when they first appeared before the court, in light of the overwhelming evidence against them, they would have served their sentence and returned home already.

She said she would reduce the custodial sentence but would have to impose significant fines as it took almost a large quantity of ganja to make the hashish that the convicted men were caught with.

Attorney Ernest Smith, who appeared for the Henriquez brothers, said a custodial sentence was not the best option at this stage, as the men have been punished greatly for the past two years.

during their time on the island, they have lost their jobs, homes and families, he said.

During the attorney's plea for mitigation, Lennox was seen wiping tears from his eyes.

All three were fined $500,000 or six months for attempting to export but were fined amounts for dealing, due to the varying amounts of the contraband. Doonai was fined $208,800, Lennox $461,760 and Mark was fined $136,200 for dealing.

On December 12, the accused men each checked in three suitcases each at the Sangster International Airport. During luggage checks for an Air Canada flight to Toronto, a sniffer dog alerted the police to the suitcases. The men were summoned to the luggage chute where they identified their suitcases.

The suitcases were searched in their presence and in the lining of Lennox's suitcases were 26 packages of substances resembling hashish, weighing 25 kilograms (54 pounds). Twelve other packages of a similar substance were found in his brother's suitcases, amounting to 21 kilos (43.5lb), while Doonai had 32 kilos (65.5 pounds) also in 12 packages. The police also found J$500,000.