Christopher Thomas, STAR Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:

A female British national, who ingested pellets of cocaine and also hid cocaine in her luggage, to smuggle out of Jamaica, was given three years' imprisonment when she appeared in the Montego Bay Resident Magistrate's Court on Monday.

Forty-year-old Ann-Marie Morris of London, England, pleaded guilty to possession of, dealing in and attempting to export five pounds and 7.49 ounces of cocaine, when she appeared before presiding magistrate Carolyn Tie.

The court was told that, on January 14, approximately 3:40 p.m., the investigating officer was conducting random searches of passengers preparing to board a Virgin Atlantic flight to London, at the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay.

Morris was interviewed and her luggage searched. A brown travelling bag in her possession was found to have a false compartment, in which had a package with white, powdery substance resembling cocaine was found.

The bag also contained two jars labeled, 'Jamaican Mango and Lime', which, when opened, were found to contain 22 packages with cocaine. Two tins labelled 'Lasco Chocolate Mix' were also found to contain cocaine.

During the interview, Morris also admitted to having ingested cocaine she was taken to Cornwall Regional Hospital where she excreted 39 pellets.

In court on Monday, Morris's lawyer asked RM Tie to be lenient in handing down sentencing, as the defendant had expressed remorse for her actions. It was further explained that Morris was driven to carry the cocaine, as she was not working at the time and needed money.

In addition to the mandatory three-year prison term, RM Tie ordered Morris to pay a fine of $300,000, or spend six months in jail, for possession of cocaine, and $350,000, or six months, for attempting to export cocaine. She was admonished and discharged on the charge of dealing in cocaine.