Five charged after massive ganja bust

The police have charged five men in relation to the seizure of over 2,000 lbs of ganja off the coast of Morant Bay, St Thomas last Saturday.

Three of the men are from St Elizabeth, one from St Catherine and the other from Clarendon. The men from St Elizabeth are: Mark Pitt, 45-year-old, a fisherman of Burnt Savannah; Rudolph Bennett, 44, of Top Hill, and Aldana Salmon, a 25-year-old farmer of Rocky Hill. They were charged jointly with Carl Manderson, 29, a fisherman of Hellshire, St. Catherine, and Gerrol Carey, 38, a mason of Thompson Town in Clarendon.

The men have been charged with the offences of possession of ganja, dealing in ganja, taking steps to export ganja, use of conveyance and conspiracy to export ganja. They are scheduled to appear in the St. Thomas Parish Court on January 8.

Reports are that on Saturday, December 28, 2019 about 5:50 a.m., the Jamaica Defence Force coastguard intercepted a vessel approximately 20 miles south of Morant Bay, St. Thomas with the five accused men on-board. The vessel was searched and 44 knitted plastic bags containing compressed ganja was found. The weight was determined to be approximately 2,353 lbs with an estimated street value being just over $9 million.