Duo caught trying to smuggle cocaine in snack packages

The two St James residents, who were arrested in 2021 after they were reportedly caught trying to smuggle 6.57 ounces of cocaine out of the island inside a package of snacks, were found guilty in the St James Parish Court on Tuesday.

Kedeesha Johnson and Calvin Grant were on trial on charges of possession of, dealing in, and attempting to export cocaine. The cocaine was being sent via a courier service on February 21, 2021. They are to return to court for sentencing on May 9. During Tuesday's hearing, Johnson wore a resigned expression while Grant had a stony look, as they sat in the prisoner's dock, listening to presiding Parish Judge Sasha-Marie Ashley's summation of the evidence that was presented against them.

In her summation, Judge Ashley pointed to inconsistencies in the statements the defendants gave to the police at the time of their arrest, including the incorrect gender of the package's intended recipient.

"Ms Johnson is saying 'I didn't know cocaine was in it', and that is the end of the matter, but it is not ... her case is that it [the package] was to be sent to a cousin in Canada, and unless the pronoun was wrong, she kept saying 'he, he, he', but on the slip of paper it said Susan Brown, and so to my mind, that should have alerted one to the fact that something is not quite right here," said Judge Ashley.

"As it relates to Mr Grant's case, I have to look at Mr Grant's case and determine if there is something more from which I can draw the inference that he knew cocaine was in the chips ... what's alarming is that by the time he gives his statement, I have two different accounts of his version of events," she added.

A social enquiry report is to be done on both defendants before sentencing. Their bails were also extended.

According to reports, Johnson went to a courier service company in Montego Bay to send the box with the alleged snacks to Canada. However, checks revealed 24 pellets with a white substance identified as cocaine. Subsequent investigations led the police to Kempshot district in St James, where Johnson was found, and after being questioned, she led the officers to Grant. Both were subsequently arrested and charged.