Two Bahamian pilots and one Canadian man were arraigned in the Magistrate’s Court yesterday in connection with that huge drug seizure that occurred on Monday at the Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA).
Murillo Sullivan, 48, of Turtle Drive, Bel Air Estates, 37-year-old Darryl Bartlett of No. 4 Pink Coral Drive and 23-year-old Michael Webster of Quebec, Canada appeared before
Magistrate Andrew Forbes to face the drug related charges.
The men racked up 12 counts each and were charged with possession of dangerous drugs with intent to supply, conspiracy to possess dangerous drugs with intent to supply, importation of dangerous drugs and conspiracy to import dangerous drugs namely marijuana, hashish oil and ecstasy.
Acting on intelligence, officers from both the Drug Enforcement Unit (DEU) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) went to the executive flight support section of LPIA around 8:00 p.m. where they searched a hawker jet that had arrived to the Bahamas from Montreal, Canada.
Authorities found four large suitcases on board the plane, containing 149 pounds of marijuana, 17.4 pounds of ecstasy pills and 2.6 pounds of hashish oil.
Head of DEU Superintendent Samuel Butler said this particular drug bust signals an unusual trend.
“This particular seizure was basically a very unique one; we’re looking at a new trend coming out of Canada based on our intelligence into to the Bahamas,” he said.
“What was also unique was the type of marijuana which is real high quality and marketed at a high price.”
He added that the demand for marijuana remains popular and that the DEU will have to pay attention to the country’s tourist based visitors who he said actually continue to have a demand for drugs once they arrive into The Bahamas.
The defendants pleaded not guilty to all the charges, denied bail and were remanded to Her Majesty’s Prisons.
Magistrate Forbes requested that security protection be provided for the trio during their time in custody.
They are scheduled to appear in court on June 19 and 20.
Attorney Michael Kemp represents Webster while attorney Elliott Lockhart represents Sullivan and Bartlett.
