Jamaican fisherman sentenced over 490 pounds of ganja in Portmore
A St Catherine parish court sentenced fisherman Gaffi Daley to a concurrent total of 16 months at hard labour and a J$800,000 fine or six months more after police stopped his car in Portmore with 490 pounds of compressed ganja on 3 June 2018. Police had described him as a major player in the drugs-for-guns trade.
🇯🇲 Lakes Pen and Municipal Boulevard, Portmore, St Catherine · Jamaica
A 34-year-old fisherman from Hellshire, Portmore, in St Catherine was charged
after police seized nearly 500 pounds of ganja during an operation in Portmore
on Sunday, 3 June 2018.[1]Police stopped a Toyota Noah at the intersection of
Grange Lane and the Portmore Municipal Boulevard, and a search of the car found
nine knitted bags holding 43 parcels of compressed ganja weighing 490 pounds,
worth an estimated J$1.9 million on the street.[1]The constabulary’s
Corporate Communications Unit said police described the man as a major player in
the illegal drug-for-guns trade.[1]
He was charged with possession of ganja, dealing in ganja, use of conveyance,
taking steps preparatory to export ganja and conspiracy.[1]Radio Jamaica
reported that police put the seized ganja at J$1.96 million and that he was to
appear in the St Catherine Parish Court on 12 June.[2]
He pleaded guilty when he appeared in the St Catherine Parish Court on 12 June
and was sentenced the following day.[3]The St Catherine Parish Court gave him
three months at hard labour for ganja possession, six months for taking steps to
export ganja and a J$800,000 fine, or six months at hard labour, for use of
conveyance.[3]The Gleaner reported the terms as running concurrently, a total
of 16 months at hard labour.[4]
The Narcotics Police and the Financial Investigation Division said they were
continuing the financial side of the investigation under the Proceeds of Crime
Act.[3]
Photos and video
Police-supplied image published with the report on the 490-pound ganja seizure and the charges in Portmore, St Catherine. Photo: Jamaica Constabulary ForcePhoto details
The first Observer report puts the interception at Grange Lane and the Portmore Municipal Boulevard, while later police statements and both sentencing reports name the intersection of Lakes Pen and Municipal Boulevard.
The street value is given as more than J$1.9 million by the Observer and J$1.96 million by Radio Jamaica; the text cites both.
The Gleaner's headline and lead say he was held with over 400 pounds of ganja, while the body of the same report and the other accounts give 490 pounds, which is used here.
The prison figure is the total of the concurrent three-month and six-month terms; the Gleaner's 16-month total also counts the six-month alternative to the fine, which would only be served if the fine went unpaid.
No details were reported of the financial investigation under the Proceeds of Crime Act or of any later step in the case.
Airport personnel at Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston found two pounds (about 0.91 kg) of vegetable matter resembling ganja in the suitcase of a 20-year-old Canadian passenger on 5 October 2025. He was arrested and later charged with possession, dealing and taking steps preparatory to exporting ganja, and a court date was being finalised.
Police in Falmouth, Trelawny, arrested a 33-year-old woman at a People's National Party meeting and seized a 9mm pistol with ten rounds and about one pound of ganja from her handbag. She was charged with illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition and with possession of and dealing in ganja, and was due in the Western Regional Gun Court on 26 June 2018.
A 32-year-old Barbadian was held at Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston on 17 January 2017 when a check found about 6.3 pounds (2.86 kg) of ganja in his luggage as he checked in for a flight to Barbados. Police said he would be charged with possession, dealing and export-preparation offences.
Police at Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston seized more than 156 pounds of ganja in four checks on 9 December 2013 and arrested seven people. The ganja was found in a false luggage compartment, hidden among yams in a truck, in checked baggage and in a cheese tin.
