A 30-year-old Bajan woman, Shakira Sharell Bailey, has been remanded in prison custody pending the payment of EC$18,000 levied against her for drug trafficking. Bailey, of Combermere Street in St. Michael, Barbados, was arrested at the Douglas Charles Airport on January 10, 2021 while trying to smuggle 4,944 grams of marijuana out of Dominica.
The street value of the marijuana was placed at EC$10,000.
A luggage official had found from an x-ray scan that Bailey’s luggage contained contraband and informed airport security who got her arrested. The cannabis had been packaged in 11 ziploc bags tucked away inside a black suitcase decorated with butterflies. The suspect had wanted to catch a flight to Barbados.
Bailey admitted to owning the bag and the contraband. She was arraigned before Chief Magistrate Candia Carette-George on January 11, 2020, and was represented by attorney Wayne Norde. She was charged with Possession of Cannabis, Exportation of Cannabis and Possession with Intent to Supply, and she pleaded guilty to all the charges. Her lawyer said she was a first offender and pleaded for mercy.
“We beg you to temper justice with mercy, she is a first-time offender and places herself at the mercy of the court,” her lawyer pleaded.
Although the judge did not sentence her on two charges, Bailey was sentenced on the third charge of attempting to export a banned substance out of the country. She was ordered to pay E$18,000 or spend six months in prison. Pending the payment of the fine, the convict was remanded at the Stock Farm Prison.
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