'Wilfully blind' drug courier weeps in court

The wailing cry of a mother of four echoed in the courtroom at the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court on Tuesday as she told the court that she was not aware that the parcels she was told to ship overseas contained cocaine.  
Anoula Barnes, 33, pleaded guilty to possession of, dealing in, conspiracy to export and attempting to export cocaine through an overseas courier service. The offence was committed  on August 28, 2020.  
In-between tears, Barnes explained to Senior Parish Judge Lori-Ann Cole-Montague that she was asked by a friend of her fiancée to ship the packages as he did not have a valid identification.  
Her fiancée, Adika Plummer, was also present in court. He is also charged with drug-related offences. He pleaded guilty last month and was remanded in custody pending sentencing. 
“Adika’s friend ask me to send off a package on my way to work. I didn’t get any time to tell the police, and I was clueless about everything," Barnes told the court.
 Investigators said that Barnes was arrested last year June following the probe of two packages that were shipped by her which were found to contain the prohibited drugs.  
It was indicated that she committed similar offences in July 2020, August 2020, and February 2021.  
“When I arrested her in June last year, I would say this case is stemming from another accused that we arrested. That accused decided to take us to the person that gave her the package — that would have been Mr Plummer. When we went to that address, we saw Miss Anoula Barnes, and on that basis, we interviewed her because we realised that she was a person of interest at that time. We brought her into custody. Mr Plummer was not there when we arrested that person. During that interview she did admit that Mr Plummer is her boyfriend. She lives with him; and he was the person who gave her the packages, and also gave her the money for sending the packages,” the lead investigator shared in court.  
The investigator shared that when Plummer was arrested, he confessed that he gave the packages to Barnes and another accused to be shipped on his behalf.  
Judge Cole-Montague asked Barnes about the person for whom she sent the packages, why the person could do conduct the transaction for themselves. 
“You are old enough to can smell a rat. They paid you to send off the package?” the judge quizzed.  
“I get $3,000 and the person say to me, 'Buy yourself a drink,'” Barnes replied in-between tears. 
When asked the identity of the person, Barnes said she only knew him by his alias, ‘Mackerel’.  
“Just that you going off? And you sending off packages at different times, and you collecting money for that? Something nuh sound right. What do you know about Mackerel? Where does he live? Where does he work? What does he do?” the senior parish judge queried.  
It was at this time Barnes indicated that Mackerel died two months after the incident. She added that she had not made efforts to ascertain his right identity, but knew that he was from the same community as her.  
“I am telling you from my heart, Your Honour, I am telling you from my heart, I had nothing to do with it,” Barnes asserted her innocence, before bursting into tears. 
Judge Cole-Montague explained a concept in law, wilful blindness, which occurs when an individual is ignorant of a situation but gets an inclination that something is wrong. Sheexplained that the law places a responsibility on individuals that when the sixth sense indicates that something is not right, usually it is not.  
“When something seems too good to be true, it generally is,” the judge contended  
When asked about the type of work Mackerel did, Barnes replied that she was not sure.  
“So, Mackerel could a well be a druggist, as they would say out a road; and I am sure that is what the police intelligence is, that Mackerel is a drug pusher. I won't sentence you today. You are not going home, I don’t give false hope in this court. Cocaine is serious matter. You know how many lives have been destroyed because of cocaine?” the senior judge queried.  
Before they were taken away from the court, Plummer shared with the court that he was the person who introduced his fiancée to Mackerel, whom he met through playing football. 
Plummer, who has a previous conviction overseas for drug-related offences, said he learnt his lesson from being incarcerated.
“I never know, and she didn’t know. I learnt my lesson already, and I would never put my loved ones in harm’s way,” Plummer said, before he was allowed to comfort his weeping companion.  
Judge Cole-Montague ordered a social enquiry report for Plummer and Barnes, who were further remanded in custody until May 16, when they will be sentenced.