Police on patrol came upon a Jamaican-style canoe in the Spotts Beach area of Shamrock Road, Grand Cayman, at about 5am on Thursday, 21 May 2020.[1] A search of the area found several packages and a search for the vessel’s crew began.[1] The packages contained suspected ganja and two handguns, along with live rounds of ammunition.[2] Just after 11am that Thursday, police arrested a 46-year-old Jamaican man on suspicion of illegal landing and firearm- and drug-related offences.[1]

On Saturday, 23 May, the man was charged with two counts of possession of an unlicensed firearm, possession of ammunition, being concerned in the importation of ganja, being concerned in the supply of ganja, and landing in the Cayman Islands without specific permission by an officer.[2] He appeared in court by video link on Monday, 25 May, and was remanded in custody until 8 June.[2] Cayman News Service reported that the man was held in isolation at HMP Northward under coronavirus protocols, after the Governor said so at a briefing that Monday.[3]

Police registered a further six charges against a 50-year-old George Town man in connection with the same interdiction on 26 February 2021.[1] Cayman News Service reported that the crown’s case against that second man rested on evidence from the Jamaican, who had already been convicted in the higher court.[4] The same account put the importation at 45lb of ganja and two handguns, with 61 rounds of assorted ammunition recovered.[4]