125 pounds of ganja found at four premises in Cocoa Ridge; one man charged
Police in Cocoa Ridge, Spanish Town, St Catherine found 125 pounds of ganja during a morning sweep of four premises and charged 50-year-old Maxie Thompson over the 25 pounds found at his home. He was charged with dealing in ganja and illegal possession and listed to appear in the St Catherine Parish Court on 30 January 2018.
🇯🇲 Cocoa Ridge, Spanish Town, St Catherine · Jamaica
Police in St Catherine arrested and charged 50-year-old Maxie Thompson, of Cocoa
Ridge in Spanish Town, with breaches of the Dangerous Drugs Act after ganja was
seized at a premises in his community last Friday.[1]He was charged with
dealing in ganja and illegal possession of ganja.[1]
Between 5:00 am and 8:00 am, a team of officers carried out a series of
operations at four premises, where they found a total of 125 pounds of ganja,
about 56.7 kilograms.[1]Twenty-five pounds of the drug, about 11.3 kilograms,
was found at Thompson’s residence, and the rest of the haul was found at the
other premises.[1]
Thompson was listed to appear in the St Catherine Parish Court on 30 January
2018, and police said investigations were continuing.[1]He was the only
person police reported charging over the four premises searched.[1]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
The article gives no calendar date for the operation, saying only that it happened "last Friday"; 8 December 2017 is inferred from the 11 December 2017 publication date.
No figure for plants, a street value or a value estimate was published; the amount is stated only as 125 pounds, converted here to about 56.7 kilograms.
The report does not say whether the ganja was weighed after seizure or confirmed by testing, or whether any of it was destroyed.
The article does not say what happened to the ganja found at the other three premises beyond the 25 pounds at Thompson's residence, or whether anyone else there was detained.
No plea or outcome of the 30 January 2018 court appearance was reported.
Only the Jamaica Observer account of this event could be found and opened, so the account is uncorroborated by a second source.
Police and the JDF Coast Guard seized over 2,000 pounds of ganja from a canoe near Alligator Pond, St Elizabeth on March 3. Four men on board were charged with possession, dealing, trafficking and export-related ganja offences.
The Jamaica Defence Force Coast Guard intercepted a vessel southwest of Long Bay Beach, Manchester, seizing over 2,286 pounds of marijuana valued at about $45 million. Four people were detained and handed over with the drugs to the police narcotics division for processing.
Police intercepted two cars on the Pamphret main road in St Thomas on September 26, 2025, seizing 1,600 pounds of compressed ganja in 33 bags. Two men were arrested and charged with possession, dealing, export-preparation and trafficking offences.
Three men are being prosecuted over 1,890 pounds (about 857 kg) of compressed ganja that police said they were taking to a Jamaican port on 15 August 2025. Two were granted $1 million bail, the third stayed in lockup, and the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court set 6 January 2026 for case management.
