St. Lucian sentenced to jail for marijuana

Yet another St. Lucian drug trader has been committed to a St. Vincent prison.
Last Monday, twenty-two year old Sedric Constantine of Dadeth, St. Lucia, was sentenced to seven months when he appeared before Chief Magistrate Simone Churaman at the No. 2 Kingstown Magistrate’s Court and pleaded guilty to possessing eighty-three pounds of marijuana with intent to supply.{{more}}
According to information received, Constantine, Joseph Antoine, Simon Robinson and Toney Tafford, all of St. Lucia, were on a vessel which was spotted in the waters off Fancy on the North Windward coast. The local Coast Guard patrol boat spotted the foreign vessel heading toward the St. Lucia channel from the direction of St. Vincent. The Coast Guard pursued and intercepted the St. Lucian vessel, and
when a search was conducted on
board, bags of the controlled drug were found.
The four men were arrested and charged separately with drug possession. But, Constantine accepted responsibility for all the marijuana and the charge was amended. Because of the amendment, the charges against Antoine, Robinson and Tafford were withdrawn.
Constantine was represented by Stephen Williams who pleaded to the court for lenience.
Williams claimed that his client had no previous conviction. He suggested a non-custodial sentence, saying that this country is poor and it is a burden on
tax-payers to keep foreigners in prison.