By Ashford Peters
The Serious Offences Court in Kingstown on Thursday imposed fines of EC$60,000 on 19-year-old Warren Lee Davies of South Wales, England, who pleaded guilty to three cocaine charges.
Davies, on his maiden visit to St. Vincent and the Grenadines, where he vacationed, was nabbed with 2.5 kilos of cocaine in a suitcase at the Argyle International Airport (AIA) on March 18, as he attempted to board Virgin Atlantic flight VS198 to return to England.
The court heard that at about 4:40 p.m. on March 18, Sergeant 756 DaSouza of the Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force was on duty at the AIA when he received certain information relating to Davies.
As a result, he kept the English visitor under observation.
Davies had a red-and-black carry-on suitcase and a black bag on his shoulder.
As he proceeded through immigration,
At the security checkpoint after Immigration, Davies was told to open the suitcase but did not comply.
Aviation security then requested that the police conduct a search.
Sergeant DaSouza went to Davies and identified himself as a police officer in plain clothes. The suitcase was opened with a bolt-cutter in Davies’ presence.
Police then requested Davies’ boarding pass and passport, which bore the name Warren Lee Davies.
When DaSouza opened Davies’ suitcase, the officer found three taped packages and four jerseys.
The court further heard that Sergeant DaSouza opened the taped packages and found a white substance resembling cocaine.
DaSouza informed Davies of the offences of possession of cocaine with intent to supply to another, attempting to export cocaine and possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking.
DaSouza cautioned Davies, who made no reply.
The British visitor was then taken to the narcotics division with the exhibits.
At the Narcotics Base, the white substance was weighed in the British visitor’s presence and amounted to 2,500 grammes.
An electronic interview was conducted in the presence of defence counsel Grant Connell and Davies was subsequently arrested and charged, and he was served with copies of the charge sheets.
Police said background checks made in the United Kingdom revealed that Davies had a run-in with the law for possession of a marijuana cigarette and breaching public order.
In mitigation, Connell said his client is a farmer and the father of one child. He said his client pleaded guilty to the charges at the first opportunity and had no prior convictions.
Connell said that, in accordance with the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court Sentencing Guidelines, the quantity of the drug fell within category 3.
Prosecutor Renrick Cato said the value of cocaine falls between EC$25,000 and EC$30,000 per kilo.
Chief Magistrate Colin John suggested that on the matter of sentencing, the court could hear arguments on financial penalties and arguments on custodial penalties.
Connell suggested the starting point for a possible custodial penalty should be a sentence of 16 months, and with discounts for guilty pleas and mitigating factors such as no previous conviction, and lack of sophisticated attempts to conceal the drug, the sentence should be eight and a half to nine months.
Connell suggested that Davies be given a suspended sentence and a fine, contending that it costs the state about EC$36,000 annually to maintain a prisoner.
He noted that the cost excludes health expenses.
“He is England’s problem, not ours,” Connell told the court.
The defence counsel also said subsequently:
“If England got rid of us as a burden, why should we take him as a burden?” Connell later said, referring to political independence.
Chief Magistrate John asked Connell about the practicality of Davies, a non-national, being given a suspended sentence, and concluded that a suspended sentence “is not effective”.
Cato said he agreed that a suspended sentence made no sense and suggested a custodial sentence.
On the matter of a possibility of financial penalties, Connell referenced a case in which a defendant who possessed 5,539 grammes of cocaine — twice the amount his client was charged for — was fined EC$6,000 for possession with intent to supply, and EC$10,000 for possession for the purpose of drug trafficking.
Cato said the drug’s estimated value was EC$62,000.
The magistrate multiplied the value by two as a punitive measure, bringing it to EC$125,000.
The guidelines allow the court to triple the value of the drugs for sentencing purposes.
The magistrate then subtracted 20% of the value, bringing it to $100,000.
After applying the discounts for the guilty pleas and the mitigating factors — youth and, among others, immaturity – the court arrived at a fine of EC$60,000.
The court settled on financial penalties rather than custodial penalties.
The court ordered Davies to pay EC$20,000 forthwith for attempting to export cocaine, or serve one year in prison.
Similar fines and alternative penalties were imposed on each of the other two charges.
Davies did not pay the fine and was taken to prison. He would be released if he paid the fines before the conclusion of the alternative prison sentence.