Three charged over 35.66 kg ganja canoe import to Cayman
Three men appeared in Summary Court on 22 May 2018 charged with conspiracy to import 35.66 kilograms (77.18 pounds) of ganja into the Cayman Islands in July 2016. The charges followed a July 2016 police operation in which three men were arrested after a canoe came ashore in Prospect.
🇰🇾 Summary Court, George Town, Grand Cayman · Cayman Islands
Three men appeared in Summary Court in George Town on Tuesday, 22 May 2018,
charged with conspiracy to import ganja in connection with an incident in July
2016.[1]The defendants were named as Jamie Justin Solomon, 25, Ivon Somoza
Bush Jr., 24, and Kevin Ashley Ebanks, 38.[1]Their charge sheets listed
Solomon and Ebanks as having addresses in West Bay, while Bush had an address in
East End.[1]
The three were accused of conspiring together and with others between 12 and 17
July 2016 to import 35.66 kilos, or 77.18 pounds, of ganja.[1]No further
details of the allegations were mentioned during the court hearing.[1]A
police press release issued the weekend of 17 July 2016 stated that three men
had been arrested on suspicion of importing ganja after a canoe came ashore in
Prospect.[1]Reporting by Cayman News Service at the time indicated that
police had recovered a quantity of ganja and arrested three people on suspicion
of importation after a canoe came ashore in Prospect at about 2am on Saturday,
16 July 2016.[2]
Magistrate Valdis Foldats adjourned the case until 12 June 2018 and suggested
that the defendants complete applications for legal aid.[1]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
No court outcome or pleas entered following the 12 June 2018 adjournment were reported in the opened sources.
The accounts differ on the initial arrests in July 2016: the police press release reported three men arrested, while Cayman News Service reported a 33-year-old woman and two 22-year-old men.
No street value was published for the 35.66 kilograms of ganja.
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.
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.
