Two Jamaicans charged over 1,000 lb ganja canoe caught east of Grand Cayman
Police found two Jamaican men, aged 33 and 59, aboard a drug canoe drifting about 50 miles east of Grand Cayman on 25 July 2019 and seized roughly 1,000 pounds of ganja valued at over CI$1 million. Rovan Johnson and Albert Campbell were charged with possession of ganja intended for importation and remanded in custody until 19 August.
🇰🇾 About 50 miles east of East End, Grand Cayman · Cayman Islands
Two Jamaican men, aged 33 and 59, were on board a drug canoe that police found
drifting about 50 miles east of Grand Cayman on Wednesday 25 July 2019.[1]Officers aboard the RCIPS Joint Marine Unit vessel MV Mark Luke came alongside
the boat at about 4:30pm and found a substantial amount of ganja in numerous
packages.[1]Police seized about 1,000 pounds of ganja (about 469 kg) and the
vessel, and arrested both men on suspicion of drug trafficking.[1]
Police said the drugs had an estimated street value of more than CI$1 million.[2]Rovan Johnson, 33, and Albert Campbell, 59, appeared in court on Monday 29
July 2019 charged with possession of more than 1,000 pounds of ganja intended
for importation to Cayman.[2]Both men were remanded in custody until 19
August 2019, when they were expected to answer the charges.[2]
Cayman News Service described the seizure as one of the biggest hauls in recent
years by the police service.[2]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
Arrested
2
Charged
2
Cannabis
469.02 kg
Value (official estimate)
KYD 1,000,000
Agency
Royal Cayman Islands Police Service
Agency type
Police, Coast guard
Cannabis
Herbal cannabis
Activity
Smuggling
Setting
Port or sea
Charge
possession of more than 1,000 pounds of ganja intended for importation into the Cayman Islands
Case stage
Charged
Region
Grand Cayman
Route
Jamaica → Cayman Islands via 50 miles east of East End, Grand Cayman
The haul was described as about 1,000 pounds in the first report and as over 1,000 pounds in the charging report; the report converts 1,000 pounds (about 469 kg) from the police account.
The boat's position is given as about 50 miles east of Grand Cayman; no exact coordinate is known.
The street value of over CI$1 million is a police estimate; the charging article prints only the dollar sign, read here as Cayman dollars.
Cayman News Service's later reports of a guilty plea in September 2019 and six-year sentences in November 2019 are later stages of this case, not covered by this account.
Coast Guard officers intercepted a boat off Grand Cayman's south coast on 29 May 2026 and found 505 pounds of ganja, 10 kilograms of cocaine and an unlicensed firearm. Two men aged 44 and 22 were charged on 14 July and remanded in custody.
Customs and Border Control officers found over 30 pounds (about 13.6 kg) of ganja in packages concealed in a shipment of imported goods on Grand Cayman. Three people were arrested, and the service said the investigation remains active.
Senior HMP Northward officer Derron Watson was arrested in February 2024 accused of smuggling ganja into the prison and was charged with misconduct and drug supply. He pleaded not guilty and in May 2025 a Grand Court jury acquitted him after he said armed men coerced him into carrying 55 grams of ganja.
Cayman's Director of Public Prosecutions agreed in October 2024 to remake the decision not to charge officials over the 2019 raid on the licensed Doctors Express clinic in George Town. A judge had ruled the seizure of cannabis products unlawful in 2021, and the clinic's judicial-review challenge was left academic pending the fresh charging decision.
