Ex-customs officer jailed for helping smuggle ganja

| 27/01/2023 | 23 Comments
Cayman News Service
Courthouse in George Town

(CNS): A former customs officer accused of helping drug smugglers move six and a half pounds of ganja through the airport was handed an 18-month sentence earlier this month, nine months of which was suspended. Eddree Joann Fisher was first arrested over the allegations in May 2018 but wasn’t charged until three and a half years later. She then pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import ganja in June last year, admitting she had misguidedly helped a friend and steered him through customs with drugs.

Justice Marlene Carter described Fisher as “an essential cog” in the smuggling conspiracy, which involved Corey James Miller and Kelven Claret and took place between February and April 2018, when Claret and Miller were arrested in Miami.

Fisher was only charged in relation to less than three kilos of cannabis smuggled on the final trip. However, when the two men were caught, Miller had travelled through Owen Roberts International Airport on five other occasions, when he is believed to have been carrying ganja in washing powder boxes.

Despite having this significant role, the sentence was much lower than may have been expected for two primary reasons in addition to Fisher’s guilty plea and her previously clean record. The court found that the delay in the case, which covered almost five years from arrest to the sentencing, was excessive.

The judge said that the defendant had had this case hanging over her head for three and a half years before she was charged following her arrest, which had warranted a reduction, as did Fisher’s personal circumstances as a mother of young children and the sole carer for one child who has serious health problems.

The judge made it clear, however, that she considered Fisher to have abused her position of trust as a customs officer at the airport when she facilitated the smuggling, helping Miller and Claret clear customs and dodge any drug enforcement operations.

The conspiracy was uncovered when the US Transportation and Security Agency found 2.94 kilograms of ganja inside Claret’s suitcase hidden in detergent boxes. After he and Miller were arrested, Claret cooperated with the US authorities, who shared the information about Fisher with the Cayman Islands Customs and Border Control (CBC).

She was arrested by CBC Assistant Director Tina Campbell and her phones were seized. These provided evidence that she had been on duty at the airport at relevant times, had signed Claret’s customs declaration form, and had exchanged messages with Miller to coordinate their movement through the airport without detection on each occasion.

A social inquiry report revealed that she was extremely remorseful and had regretted her actions, which she said she had done because she had a “stupid but kind heart” and had acted out of concern for her friend.


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Category: Courts, Crime

Comments (23)

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  1. Anonymous says:

    What would be a perfect vehicle with which to smuggle ganja through an airport?

    Hmmmm. How about something that should resemble a powder?

    Yas! GrEaT iDeA

    Seriously. The brains behind this operation needs to go back to school. How they did it on at least 4 previous occasions is as mind-blowing as the lenient sentence for an abuse of a position of trust 🤡

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  2. Anonymous says:

    An 18 month sentence , no matter what her circumstances are is too little. Others will not be swayed to not do this type of crime.

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  3. Anonymous says:

    You can hardly call 18 months for running drugs a jail sentence. In HM Prison Northward it’s more like a vacation.

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  4. Corruption is endemic says:

    Slap on the wrist, this is how we roll…

  5. Say it like it is says:

    It seems to be the custom of a number of our Customs officers to break the very laws they are supposed to enforce. Only in Caynan!.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Clearly there are many networks involved, some are touchable, and others, not. Many of our Miami Vice era MPs keep pushing for a deeper cargo port to put us on the motherload Colombia to Dominican Republic cargo route. That’s where the eye-watering inter-Caribbean political facilitator super-grift money lives, and it’s almost all they can think about.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Yeah cause corrupt customs agents only exist in cayman.

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  6. Anonymous says:

    So if the pact government decriminalize small amounts of ganja for personal use will that same small amount be legal to import? Or are we going to have permission to grow a tree or two in order to obtain that small amount? A little bit confused about it

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    • Anonymous says:

      Maybe FOI the RCIPS’ list of approved importers and forever exempt from prosecution Ministers, business launderers, and gang leaders, and send it to CNS to republish in the document library – or email your West Bay Central or Bodden Town MP for job opportunities – especially if you have a boat with gas! Don’t forget to get character references from your pastor and granny in case you get caught! “We were just fishing, officer”.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Ganja will still be illegal, you just wont get a criminal record if arrested and charged for posesion of a small amount

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  7. Anonymous says:

    took us cbc to unravel? hummm?

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    • Anonymous says:

      No, this amateur ring was toppled because the DEA applied it as a case study in stupidity on Miami outbound. Who goes to Miami to use their luggage weight allowance to procure boxes of powdered laundry soap? That alone is some kind of stupid. Come with us, Sir Knuckleheads.

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  8. Anonymous says:

    RCIPS care to explain why a basic investigation like this took 5 YEARS????

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    • Anonymous says:

      DEA completed investigation quickly and forwarded it to CBC. Then 5 years of horse trading to make sure important CBC, CAL, and CIAA people and established lax procedure would not be exposed by this prosecution finally going trial.

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    • Not rcips says:

      Donkey this has nothing to do with rcips. Stop blaming the police for corrupt custom officers. Customs needs to explain why they hire corrupt people not the police.

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  9. Anonymous says:

    It has been the case, like this situation, whereby the person or persons are only regretful or express some level of remorse because he/she/they got caught. Otherwise, it is business as usual and the next time is planned.

    Good to see that ‘no one is above the law.”

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  10. Anonymous says:

    5 years…man, they should have waited a bit longer, then her kids would be all grown up.

    Seriously though, this place isn’t real. Assuming she was charged and all the rest of it in a timely manner, she’d have been behind bars for years.

    Let’s face it too, can a case be hanging over your head when you know you’re guilty? 🤣

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    • Anonymous says:

      why women is always gets lighter sentences than men.
      she should thought of her children before she broke the the law. A CBC woman officer importing a illegal drug and only gets 18 months, sad.
      If it had been a man he would got 5 years. And women wants equal rights as men.ha ha.

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