WESTERN BUREAU:

A St James vendor, who tried to import nearly two pounds (900 grams) of cocaine into Jamaica last October, was ordered to pay a total fine of $350,000 or spend six months in prison on Monday.

Forty-nine-year-old Pauline Tapper, of a Catherine Hall address, Montego Bay, had previously pleaded guilty to possession of, dealing in, and attempting to import a pound and 11 ounces of cocaine when she appeared in the Montego Bay Resident Magistrate's Court on November 2.

On October 22, Tapper arrived at the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay on a Caribbean Airlines flight from Trinidad, but abnormalities were discovered when she passed through the airport's security system.

A subsequent search revealed that Tapper had hidden a package inside her vagina, containing a white substance resembling cocaine.

Under caution, she said, "Dem promise me US$1,000," and she was taken to the Cornwall Regional Hospital where she excreted an additional 59 pellets of cocaine between October 22 and 26.

financial constraints

In court, Tapper's lawyer, Jean Williams, explained that her client turned to drug smuggling due to financial constraints.

"That was how she (Tapper) thought she could adjust her life. With her situation as it is ... she was concerned about the economic situation and how it would affect her children," Williams told Resident Magistrate Sandria Wong-Small.

"She is deeply sorry for committing these offences and I urge the court to be as lenient as possible in the circumstances," Williams added.

In handing down the sentence, RM Wong-Small scolded Tapper for her poor judgement.

"Miss, I don't know what could have possessed you to put yourself in this position. You knew what you were doing, and the risks were multiplied because you ingested part of what you were carrying," Wong-Small told the defendant.

"A woman of your age, with young children, how could you have agreed to something like this? I find that I am going to have to impose a term of imprisonment on you," the magistrate added.

Tapper will pay a $150,000 fine or spend six months behind bars for possession of cocaine, and $200,000 or six months for attempting to import cocaine. She was admonished and discharged on the dealing charge.

Additionally, she will spend a mandatory 18 months behind bars. The terms of imprisonment will run consecutively if the fines are not paid.