McDowall sentenced to six years in Tortola prison

Gareth McDowall, one of three Vincentians who were recently found guilty of smuggling 59 kilos of cocaine into Tortola, was, on November 15, 2011, sentenced to six years in prison.{{more}}

Countrymen Dexter Chance and Carlos Sutherland will learn their fate on December 9.

On January 23, 2008, the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force seized and searched a chartered catamaran moored at Hodges Creek and found some 59 kilos of cocaine on board the vessel, worth over $1M.

According to BVIPLATINUM.COM, McDowall was sentenced to six years in prison and fined $100,000. The court also ordered that if McDowall does not pay the fine he will have to spend an additional year in prison.

Following a trial last month, the three Vincentians along with Tortola native Dale Nibbs were found guilty. Two other men from Tortola, Asif Glasgow and Coy Penn, were acquitted.

The article stated that Sutherland’s lawyer Herbert McKenize pleaded for leniency for his client, stating that he is a 35-year-old farmer and is the father of five children.

He urged the court to bear in mind that Sutherland has been in custody in relation to this matter since April 2009 and he also has no previous convictions.

The article stated that the prosecution called some twenty witnesses during the trial, including their star witness Chesley Balkaran who pleaded guilty in 2008 in relation to the same drug bust. He was sentenced to four years in prison.