Tourist, 21, fined $800 for importing 30.5 g of cannabis at Belize airport
American visitor Yannick Nicole Buie, 21, was caught at Philip Goldson International Airport with 30.51 grams of cannabis in her luggage after arriving from Miami. She pleaded guilty to importation of a controlled drug and was fined $800 plus court costs.
🇧🇿 Philip Goldson International Airport, Ladyville · Belize
Twenty-one-year-old American hostess Yannick Nicole Buie arrived at Philip
Goldson International Airport on American Airlines Flight 583 from Miami on
March 18, 2025.[1]She had come to Belize on vacation to celebrate her
birthday, turning 22 the next day on March 20.[1]
Authorities at the airport detected a strong smell of cannabis and searched
Buie’s luggage, finding four small, multicolored packages of marijuana.[2]She
was found carrying 30.51 grams of cannabis in her luggage.[2]She was detained
and handed over to the Ladyville police, and charged with importation of a
controlled drug.[1]Customs officers picked up on the strong smell of cannabis
coming from her, prompting the search.[3]
Appearing unrepresented in Belize City Magistrate’s Court No. 3 on the morning
of March 19, she pleaded guilty to the single charge of importation of a
controlled drug.[1]The magistrate fined her $800 plus a $5 cost of court, to
be paid immediately or face six months in prison.[1]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
Love FMlovefm.comBirthday Trip Goes Awry: Tourist Charged with Cannabis Possession in Belize
7NewsBelize7newsbelize.comFined For Flying Into The Country With Weed, Traveler Warns, "Read The Fine Print"
Open questions the AI reported
None of the outlets names the currency of the $800 fine and $5 court fee; they are recorded as Belize dollars, the currency Belize courts use when reporting fines this way.
Love FM says Buie arrived on a flight from Miami while Breaking Belize News describes her as arriving from New York on American Airlines Flight 583 from Miami; the report uses the Miami flight both outlets state.
7NewsBelize spells her surname Bowie while Love FM and Breaking Belize News spell it Buie; the report uses Buie.
Whether Buie paid the fine immediately or served the six-month default prison term was not reported.
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.
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.
