Senior Prosecutor Adolphus Delpleche stressed the destructive nature of cocaine, at the Serious Offences Court on Wednesday, as he made sentencing recommendations for Jilcina Susan Debique-Mason, a 51-year-old female farmer of Rose Hall.
Debique-Mason was charged with possession of 1,810 grams of cocaine with intent to supply, possession for the purpose of drug trafficking, and attempting to import the drug.
The cocaine was contained in three one-litre orange juice boxes which had come in at the Kingstown Port on January 11 last year in a package addressed to Debique-Mason, and sent from Trinidad and Tobago.
“Cocaine is a serious, serious, serious drug. It can destroy our nation. It can cripple us, and when you try to penetrate our borders, it is even more serious”, the Prosecutor pointed out, adding, “I am looking at a custodial sentence”.
In his submissions following Debique-Mason’s conviction on all three counts on Tuesday, Delpleche said, “My honour, this is a wretched substance, and if you walk down the streets here, you could see the corrosive effects of this substance. It is not the homegrown plant, the green leaves of what is grown in St. Vincent and the Grenadines”.
But the Prosecutor noted that each case must be treated on its own facts and circumstances.
Delpleche said it took the vigilance of a young Customs Officer, Stacy Ann Adams to detect the substance in this case, while making routine checks at the baggage room of the Customs and Excise Department, Kingstown.(Vin)