Judge wants to stop flow of incoming guns and ammo

A St James judge suggested on Monday that the authorities who monitor Jamaica's borders must do more to ensure that contraband does not enter the country.

Judge Nateisha Fairclough-Hylton made the comment while presiding over the case of 19-year-old Argentine Santino Dulce, who pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of ammunition. According to court documents, on July 14 about 10:30 am, Dulce was at the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay preparing to board a Copa Airline flight to Panama City, Panama, when his luggage was scanned and one 1.22mm round of ammunition was found.

"It is not a secret that we tend to screen more things leaving than things entering, and I cannot understand why. Since I was a prosecutor, we have had these instances where persons come into the island with firearms and ammunition, and it's not detected, but it's when they are going back with the same firearm and the same ammunition that it is detected," Fairclough-Hylton remarked.

"It only says that we need to beef up our security with things entering our country, though I don't know how we will do that," the judge added.

In mitigating on Dulce's behalf, his attorney Chumu Parris asked for the court to show mercy as it had not been his intention to break the law.

"Mr Dulce made a mistake, and he understands that he will be required to demonstrate his understanding of that fact," Parris continued. The judge subsequently ordered Dulce to pay a $20,000 fine or spend three months in prison.