Two charged after 505 lb of ganja seized from boat off Grand Cayman
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.
🇰🇾 South coast of Grand Cayman, near Frank Sound · Cayman Islands
Coast Guard officers, guided by a police helicopter, intercepted a boat off Grand Cayman’s southern
coast just after midnight on Friday 29 May 2026.[1]The helicopter crew had spotted the vessel
behaving suspiciously, and the Coast Guard found numerous packages on board.[2][1]Police said the
packages held 505 pounds of ganja (about 229 kg), 10 kilograms of cocaine, less than a kilogram of
ketamine and MDMA, and an unlicensed firearm with ammunition.[3][2]
Two men on board, aged 44 and 22, were arrested.[3][2]On 14 July they appeared in court, where
both were charged with importing ganja; the 22-year-old was also charged with illegal landing.[3]They were further charged with importing cocaine, ketamine and MDMA and with possessing an
unlicensed firearm and ammunition, and were remanded in custody until 29 July.[3][2]Cayman News
Service reported that the charges carry a minimum of 15 years in prison.[2]
Cayman Compass reported the ganja at 550 pounds and gave the men’s ages as 42 and 22; the police
statement carried by Caymanian Times and Cayman News Service gives 505 pounds and ages 44 and 22,
which this report uses.[3][2][1]
Photos and video
The ganja recovered from the boat intercepted off Grand Cayman's southern coast.Photo details
The men are not named in the police statement or the reports.
No outcome after the 29 July court appearance was reported.
No street value was published for the drugs.
Cayman Compass reported 550 pounds of ganja and ages 42 and 22; the police statement carried by Caymanian Times and Cayman News Service gives 505 pounds and ages 44 and 22, which this report uses.
The reports do not say where the vessel or its crew came from.
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.
Police arrested three men on 26 March 2024 after finding about 450 pounds of ganja at apartments near Seymour Drive in George Town's industrial area. All three were charged with possession of ganja with intent to supply and bailed to return to court; the 57-year-old George Town man also faces a criminal-property charge over seized cash.
Police searched three premises in Bodden Town on 9 August 2022 and seized over 300 pounds of ganja with utensils and cash, arresting five local people. Three men were charged with possession and intent to supply and a fourth with possession, and all four appeared in court on 12 August while a woman was bailed.
