Jamaican among four denied bail over 7 lb of marijuana on Bahamas-bound boat
Four men, one of them Jamaican, were denied bail in The Bahamas over an alleged plan to bring cocaine and marijuana into the country by boat. The US Coast Guard stopped the vessel off Cuba on 7 December with seven pounds of marijuana, 2,250 pounds of cocaine and a pistol aboard.
🇧🇸 Off the coast of Cuba, drugs bound for The Bahamas
Four men, three Bahamian and one Jamaican, were denied bail in The Bahamas on
charges from an alleged attempt to smuggle cocaine and marijuana into the
country.[1]Prosecutors allege that Bahamians Howard Rolle, James Jones and
Zenard Rolle and Jamaican national Nicholas Duckenson, of Negril, planned to
bring in cocaine valued at US$18.4 million and marijuana valued at US$7,000.[1]
The US Coast Guard intercepted the Bahamian-registered go-fast boat carrying the
drugs off the coast of Cuba on 7 December.[1]Police seized2,250 pounds of
cocaine, seven pounds of marijuana and a .40 Smith & Wesson pistol from the
vessel.[1]
At their arraignment before Senior Magistrate Raquel Whyms the four denied
possession of drugs with intent to supply, conspiracy to import drugs with
intent to supply, conspiracy to possess drugs with intent to supply and
possession of an unlicensed firearm.[1]Bail was denied and their trial is
scheduled for 16 April.[1]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
The article gives no arraignment date; 29 December 2025 is its publication date.
The seven pounds of seized marijuana (about 3.175 kg) and the US$7,000 value stated in the same article are used; the seizure and the valuation are not reconciled.
The weight of the marijuana and the .40 pistol are the only items reported from the search; the cocaine is excluded from the cannabis figures.
The reports do not say where the boat was heading, who supplied the drugs or where the men were held before trial.
The trial date was given only as 16 April, without a year.
Only one opened account, relayed through the Caribbean Media Corporation, was found; no Bahamian police or court statement was accessible.
Nassau police Drug Enforcement Unit officers searched a St. James Road residence off Kemp Road shortly after 3 p.m. on 5 November 2026 and arrested a 54-year-old man. They seized about 71.1 pounds (32.25 kg) of suspected hydroponic marijuana, which police valued at $142,000.
Jamal Edgecombe, 33, pleaded guilty to possession of dangerous drugs with intent to supply after 3.5 lbs of hydroponic marijuana was found in New Providence on 29 October 2026. Acting Chief Magistrate Ancella Evans sentenced him to eight months in prison, and the charge against co-accused Pedronique Brown was withdrawn.
Three Bahamian men were charged after the U.S. Coast Guard and Royal Bahamas Defence Force seized 97 bales of cannabis, about 2,380 pounds, from their vessel near Great Inagua on 25 July 2026. A magistrate denied them bail.
Four men were arraigned in the Nassau Magistrate's Court over 336 pounds (about 152 kg) of marijuana that prosecutors said they possessed on 10 March 2021 and conspired to import. Three were granted $7,000 bail; the fourth, a Jamaican national, was remanded in custody after prosecutors argued he was a flight risk.
