American fined $2,000 for importing 53 g of marijuana at Belize airport
A 31-year-old New York man was arrested at Philip Goldson International Airport on 10 September 2025 with 53 grams of marijuana in his luggage on an American Airlines flight. He pleaded guilty to importation of a controlled drug and was fined $2,000 plus $5 in costs, with one year in prison if he did not pay.
🇧🇿 Philip Goldson International Airport, Ladyville · Belize
A 31-year-old American man from New York was arrested at the Philip Goldson
International Airport on September 10, 2025, after arriving on an American
Airlines flight.[1]He spent the night at the Ladyville Police Station, the
night of his 32nd birthday.[2]
Officers found 53 grams of marijuana in his luggage.[1]He appeared
unrepresented the next day in the Belize City Magistrate’s Court, where he
pleaded guilty to importation of a controlled drug.[1]
The offence carries a minimum $10,000 fine and up to three years in prison, but
the magistrate spared him the minimum mandatory penalty.[1]The magistrate
started from a $3,000 fine and deducted $1,000 for his early guilty plea, citing
his early plea and lack of prior convictions in Belize.[2]He was fined $2,000
plus a $5.00 cost of court, to be paid immediately or serve one year in prison.[1]
Photos and video
Love FM's photograph of a courtroom used with its report of the sentencing. Photo: Love FMPhoto details
Love FM says the fine was imposed "today" after a 10 September arrest, so the court appearance and sentence are dated 11 September 2025; the report's incident date is the 10 September arrest and seizure.
Neither outlet names the currency of the fine; $2,000 plus $5 costs is recorded as Belize dollars, the currency in which Belize courts report fines.
Neither outlet says whether he paid the fine, so it is not known whether he served the one-year default prison term.
The submitted Love FM page carries one courtroom image captioned only with the headline and credited to no one; it is listed as a link to the page's picture and is not known to show this hearing, and no police handout of the seizure was found.
Left out agency types, as its quotation was not found in Breaking Belize News.
Orlando Anthony Fisher, 65, pleaded guilty to possession of 61 grams of cannabis with intent to supply in Belize City. The magistrate sentenced him to three months in prison, his sixth drug conviction after five previous drug offenses.
Evan Michael Gillett pleaded guilty after police found 1,295 g of cannabis at a Belize City residence. The court suspended his 21-month prison term for two years and fined him $6,000.
Charged 2Cannabis 1.295 kgPrison 1 year 9 months (suspended for 2 years)Fine BZD 6,000
American visitor Gia Fields was caught at Philip Goldson International Airport with 52 grams of cannabis hidden on her body after arriving from Atlanta. She pleaded guilty to importation of a controlled drug and was fined $1,500.
Three American women arriving on a JetBlue flight from New York in August 2025 were caught at Philip Goldson International Airport with about 32.76 grams of marijuana between them. They spent a night at the Ladyville Police Station, pleaded guilty to importing a controlled drug and were each fined $300 plus $5 in costs.
