American, 28, fined $1,000 for importing 11 g of marijuana at Belize airport
American visitor Jennifer Marroquin Valencia was caught at Philip Goldson International Airport on 5 September 2024 with about 11 grams of marijuana. She pleaded guilty to importation of a controlled drug in the Belize City Magistrate's Court the next day and was fined $1,000 plus costs.
🇧🇿 Philip Goldson International Airport, Ladyville · Belize
Twenty-eight-year-old Jennifer Marroquin Valencia of Los Angeles, California,
appeared unrepresented in the Belize City Magistrate’s Court on 6 September 2024
to answer a single count of importation of a controlled drug.[1]She pleaded
guilty at the first opportunity.[1]She told the court she was from Los
Angeles, where marijuana is legal, and was unaware of Belizean law.[2]
She was caught with 11.1 grams of marijuana when she arrived at the Philip
Goldson International Airport the previous day, 5 September 2024.[1]The court
fined her $1,000 plus a $5 cost-of-court fee, ordered to be paid forthwith
because she is not a Belizean citizen.[2]
Two other Americans, 49-year-old Roderick Boone and 37-year-old Lee Whyms, had
been caught at the same airport in late August in similar importation cases.[2]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
Charged
1
Cannabis
11.1 g
Fine
BZD 1,000
Cannabis
Herbal cannabis (11.1 g)
Activity
Smuggling
Setting
Airport
Charge
importation of a controlled drug
Case stage
Sentenced
Sentence
Fine
Region
Belize District
Sources
Love FMlovefm.comAmerican Visitor Fined for Bringing Marijuana into Belize
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.
