By Latrishka Thomas
“I was set up,” a convicted drug offender told the court right before he was sentenced in the High Court yesterday.
Errol Lewis, 30, was charged with possession of cannabis, importation of cannabis and drug trafficking almost two years ago.
He admitted to possession and importation of the 31.75 pounds of cannabis last week when he was arraigned.
According to the facts of the case, on May 15 2020, an officer on duty at the VC Bird International Airport found the cannabis in two E-container boxes that arrived on an Amerijet flight from Miami.
It was while inspecting the cargo that he smelt what appeared to be cannabis in one of the boxes.
After requesting the presence of a Customs officer, the corporal checked the box and found 11 vacuum-sealed packages containing a green, bushy substance. The same plant-like substance was found in another box.
The boxes were subsequently resealed and the matter was investigated.
After admitting to smuggling the $254,000 worth of drugs, Lewis was remanded to prison until yesterday for his sentencing hearing.
He expressed remorse to Justice Stanley John but said, “I was set up”.
“What would have happened if these drugs reached the streets of Antigua,” the judge queried.
It would “reach young men and women and it would destroy them,” Justice John continued.
He therefore sentenced Lewis to four years for importation and 30 months for the charge of possession. However, the sentences will run concurrently.
*Meanwhile, in a separate case, Everton Pinnock who was found guilty last month of possession of 59.75 pounds of cannabis, drug trafficking and importation of the said drugs, will be sentenced on March 18. Pinnock was implicated in a major drug bust at the Deep Water Harbour in July 2020.