Cricketer Akeem Saunders fined EC$300 over 13 g of cannabis in his shoe
Antigua police arrested Kittitian cricketer Akeem Saunders, 23, at V.C. Bird International Airport on 15 January 2018 after narcotics and customs officers found cannabis hidden in his shoe while he transited from Jamaica to St Kitts. He pleaded guilty to importing the drug and was fined EC$300, after which he paid and flew home.
🇦🇬 V.C. Bird International Airport, St. John's, Antigua · Antigua and Barbuda
Kittitian cricketer Akeem Saunders was arrested at V.C. Bird International
Airport in Antigua on Monday 15 January 2018 after officers found cannabis
hidden in his shoe.[1]He was 23 years old and had flown in from Jamaica with
the Leeward Islands team, in transit to St Kitts.[2]
Narcotics and Customs K9 officers searched his suitcase and found 13 grams of
cannabis inside his shoe, which they seized.[2]He spent two days on remand
before appearing in the All Saints Magistrate’s Court.[3]Saunders pleaded
guilty to importing the drug through the airport, and Magistrate Ngaio Emanuel
fined him EC$300, to be paid at once or replaced by a week at Her Majesty’s
Prison.[3]The Observer put the imported amount at 11 grammes of marijuana,
while the first reports said 13 grams.[3]He paid the fine and flew back to St
Kitts.[4]
The Leeward Islands Cricket Association said its board would meet that weekend
to decide how to help him, and its president said the priority was the player’s
wellbeing rather than cricket.[4]The association’s president, Enoch Lewis,
said Saunders was not included in the already selected Volcanoes Super50 squad.[4]Kittitian cricketer Akeem Saunders was sentenced at the All Saints
Magistrate’s Court in Antigua after he pleaded guilty to importing cannabis
found in his shoe at V.C. Bird airport; he was fined EC$300.[1]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
The Antigua Observer's own page refused direct access, so its account was read through a Wayback capture dated 2 January 2019; the paper gives no separate publication date beyond the page date of 20 January 2018.
Sources disagree on the weight: the Antigua News Room and SKN PULSE accounts say 13 grams, while the Antigua Observer says 11 grammes; the 13 g figure is recorded.
The Observer says he was sentenced on Thursday and had spent two days in remand, so the court date is taken as 18 January 2018; no separate court date is stated elsewhere.
SKN PULSE calls the scene of arrest the V.C. Bird airport but names him a Volcanoes batsman, while other accounts place him with the Leeward Islands team after a match in Jamaica.
The Observer's fine is written as $300; because the case was in Antigua and SKN PULSE gives EC$300, the eastern Caribbean dollar is used.
Kimmesha Hutchinson is due to stand trial in Antigua's High Court over 80 pounds of marijuana allegedly found in a barrel she went to clear at Deep Water Harbour in April 2023. Police valued the marijuana at $480,000, and a follow-up search of her home allegedly found suspected cocaine that brought separate charges.
Police arrested Herberts resident Jamie Darroux near Potters Primary School on March 23, 2026 and seized 21 grams of cannabis. He pleaded guilty to public smoking and over-limit possession; the court reprimanded him on the smoking charge and fined him $500 for possession.
US national Fady Aziz Saloum was arrested at V.C. Bird International Airport on 7 March 2026 after officers found 56 grams of cannabis in his suitcase. He pleaded guilty to possession and was fined EC$1,000, with a separate importation charge withdrawn.
Arrested 1Charged 1Cannabis 56 gPrison 30 days in default
Dorian Wilkins, 27, of Bay Street in Villa, was convicted of cannabis possession in St John's Magistrates' Court and fined $1,000, with 90 days in jail if he does not pay within 30 days. Police found 52 grams of cannabis, valued at $520, when they searched his bag on Bay Street on May 25, 2025.