Vincentian musician charged in Barbados over 49 lb of cannabis in coconuts
Barbados police charged St Vincent musician Dennis Lawrence Parsons, 35, with possessing, trafficking and importing 49 pounds (about 22 kg) of cannabis found in a shipment of coconuts from St Vincent. A woman detained with him was released, and he appeared at the District A Court in Bridgetown the day after his arrest.
🇧🇧 Bridgetown, Barbados
·
Arrested
1
Charged
1
Cannabis
22.226 kg
Agencies
Customs and Excise Department, Royal Barbados Police Drug Squad
Dennis Lawrence Parsons, a 35-year-old musician from Fountain in St Vincent,
appeared at the District A Court in Bridgetown, Barbados, on Wednesday 20 March
2013.[1]Members of the Drug Squad had arrested and charged him the previous
day, Tuesday 19 March.[1]A Royal Barbados Police press release said he was
charged with possession of 49 pounds of cannabis, trafficking of cannabis,
possession with intent to supply and importation of the drug.[1]
On 19 March 2013, officers of the Customs and Excise Department searched a
shipment of coconuts that had entered Barbados as cargo on an inter-island
vessel from St Vincent.[1]Packages of cannabis were found with the
consignment, and the Barbadian Drug Squad was called in to continue the
investigation.[1]TrakkerNews, reporting from Bridgetown, said 49 pounds were
seized aboard the inter-island vessel and that customs officials searching the
cargo notified the police after finding packages of the drug in the consignment.[2]The 49 pounds come to about 22.2 kilograms of cannabis.[2]
Parsons and a woman were both taken into custody, but the woman was released and
Parsons alone was charged.[1]TrakkerNews identified him as a 35-year-old
Vincentian national facing charges of possession, possession with intent to
supply, trafficking and importation.[2]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
Arrested
1
Charged
1
Cannabis
22.226 kg
Agencies
Customs and Excise Department; Royal Barbados Police Drug Squad
Agency type
Customs, Police
Cannabis
Herbal cannabis (22.226 kg)
Activity
Possession, Sale, Trafficking, Smuggling
Setting
Port or sea
Charges
possession of 49 pounds of cannabis; trafficking of cannabis; possession with intent to supply; importation of cannabis
Case stage
Charged
Region
Barbados
Sources
Searchlightsearchlight.vcVincentian musician arrested and charged in Barbados with trafficking in marijuana
The sources give only the day of the week for the court appearance (Wednesday) and the arrest (Tuesday); the seizure and arrest date of 19 March 2013 is stated explicitly, while the court date is inferred from the calendar as 20 March 2013.
No source states the street value of the 49 pounds of cannabis.
The 22.2 kg figure is a conversion of the stated 49 pounds, not a laboratory weight.
The accounts do not make clear whether the charged 49 pounds were weighed from the packages in the coconut consignment, and TrakkerNews differs from Searchlight on whether the Drug Squad or customs officers made the seizure.
No sentencing or later court outcome for Parsons was found in the sources opened.
Only two accounts of the event were found; both appear to draw on the Royal Barbados Police press release.
Natalie Jacinta Boyce, 43, pleaded not guilty in the District ‘B’ Magistrates’ Court to four cannabis charges involving about 15.2 kg of suspected cannabis. She was granted $45,000 bail and ordered to return to court on 23 February 2027.
The Narcotics Unit charged three men — a 45-year-old Trinidadian, a 53-year-old St Michael resident and a 54-year-old Guyanese — with possession, trafficking and intent to supply after seizing 43.3 kg of cannabis worth $866,000 on 23 August 2026. The Trinidadian faces added illegal-entry charges; one man got $200,000 bail, two were remanded.
An 18-year-old woman from Lammings, St Joseph, was arrested and charged with possession, trafficking, intent to supply and importation of cannabis over a December 5, 2025 incident. Police put the suspected cannabis at 22.80 kg with an estimated street value of $182,400, and she was due in the District ‘B’ Magistrates’ Court on December 8.
Canada cricket captain Nicholas Kirton was detained at Grantley Adams International Airport in Barbados with about 20 pounds of cannabis and charged with importation, trafficking, supply and possession. He pleaded not guilty, was granted bail with a 2 June court date, while Cricket Canada said it was monitoring the case.
