Canadian drug mule Michael McKenna jailed 6½ years for 13.88 kg of cannabis
Former chef Michael McKenna, 54, of Toronto, was sentenced to 6½ years in prison on 9 April 2026 after pleading guilty to importing 13.88 kilogrammes of cannabis in a suitcase at LF Wade International Airport on 13 July 2025; the judge said a trial would have brought ten years.
🇧🇲 LF Wade International Airport, St. George's · Bermuda
- Arrested
- 1
- Charged
- 1
- Cannabis
- 13.88 kg
- Prison
- 6 years 6 months
- Value (official estimate)
- USD 1,380,000
Canadian national Michael McKenna, 54, was jailed for 6½ years at Bermuda’s Supreme Court for
smuggling cannabis through LF Wade International Airport.[1]
McKenna arrived from Toronto on 13 July 2025; customs X-rays led officers to 33 heat-sealed packages
with about 13.88 kilogrammes of cannabis in his suitcase.[1] He told officials he had been offered
the bag and did not know its contents, and later described himself as a “mule” set up by dealers he
owed.[1]
After remand in July 2025 on import and possession-with-intent charges, he pleaded guilty at the
November arraignments session.[1][2] On 9 April 2026 Puisne Judge Alan Richards said a trial sentence
would have been ten years but, with credit for the pleas, imposed 6½ years on each count to run
concurrently, backdated to time in custody since July 2025.[1]
Sources
- Canadian man ‘set up as a mule’ jailed for smuggling cannabis. The Royal Gazette, 10 April 2026. Archived copy.
- Canadian national remanded for alleged drug trafficking. The Royal Gazette, 17 July 2025. Archived copy.
Open questions the AI reported
- The Royal Gazette valued the load at up to $1.38 million on Bermuda's streets; no laboratory breakdown was published in these accounts.
- McKenna's remand hearing did not read out the weight in open court.
- Crown and defence jointly suggested six years while the judge imposed 6½ years after a notional ten-year trial starting point.
