St Elizabeth man pleads guilty, fined over Spanish Town ganja bust

A St Elizabeth man who was among three people charged following the seizure of more than 20 pounds of ganja along Jobs Lane in Spanish Town has been fined more than $140,000 after pleading guilty in the St Catherine Parish Court.

Robert Brooks, otherwise called ‘Hardy’, a 56-year-old resident of Rose Hall district, pleaded guilty when he appeared before the court on Friday.

Brooks was fined $143,944 or three months’ imprisonment for possession of ganja and an additional $15,000 or 30 days’ imprisonment for dealing in ganja.

The charges stem from a police operation carried out on May 16 by personnel attached to the Green Acres Police Station along Jobs Lane in Spanish Town, St Catherine.

Reports are that about 11:00 a.m., the police stopped and searched a motor car occupied by Brooks and two other men.

The other accused were identified as 37-year-old farmer Sanjay Johnson of Red Ground, St Elizabeth, and 35-year-old Ojay Brown of Burnt Savannah district, St Elizabeth.

During the search, the police reportedly found vegetable matter resembling ganja weighing approximately 23 pounds.

All three men were arrested and subsequently charged with possession of ganja and dealing in ganja.

Johnson and Brown were later freed by the court.

- Rasbert Turner