The Tribune

By FARRAH JOHNSON

Tribune Staff Reporter

fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

TWO more men were charged yesterday with conspiring to possess dangerous drugs in connection with the seizure of $250,000 worth of marijuana from a Stapledon Gardens home last month.

Eddie Miller and Jameson Jacques appeared before Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt after they were accused of plotting to acquire 215 pounds of Indian hemp, which police alleged they possessed with the intent to supply on September 22.

According to initial police reports, shortly before noon that day, officers from the Drug Enforcement Unit executed a search warrant on a residence on Trinity Lane, Stapledon Gardens. During the search, the officers discovered a quantity of suspected marijuana and a firearm.

During their arraignment, Miller and Jacques denied the allegations and the matter was adjourned to November 22 for a status hearing.

In the interim, Miller was granted $80,000 bail while Jacques’ case was adjourned to today for a bail hearing to give the prosecution an opportunity to review his antecedents.

This comes after another man was charged in September in connection with the incident.

Yesterday, Miller also had $10,290 forfeited to the Crown after he failed to inform a Bahamas customs officer that he was trying to leave the country with more than $10,000.

After he pleaded guilty, his attorney, Dion Smith, told the court his client was remorseful for making such a “silly mistake with regard to calculation.” He said Miller was under the impression that he was actually travelling with less than $10,000 and had miscounted when he was getting his funds together.

In response, Magistrate Ferguson-Pratt said while his actions may have been well intended, the offence he committed was a matter of “strict liability”. As a result, she fined him $500 and ordered that the $10,290 he was carrying be forfeited to the Crown. She warned Miller that if he failed to pay the fine, he could risk spending three months on remand.