Retired British nurse gets 10 months for cocaine smuggling
LORAN BARTLEY, a British national who was arrested in connection with attempts to smuggle cocaine on to a flight destined for England on May 6, has been sentenced to 10 months’ imprisonment by the St James Parish Court.
Bartley, a 59-year-old retired nurse of a Birmingham, England address, was also slapped with a total $1.5-million fine during his sentencing hearing on Friday, after pleading guilty to the charges of possession, dealing in, and attempting to export 11 pounds of cocaine.
During the hearing, Bartley’s attorney Shelly-Ann Hyman told parish Judge Sasha-Marie Ashley that her client is in poor health, which played a role in his decision to traffic the substance.
“Mr Bartley has indicated from the outset a willingness to accept responsibility for what has happened. He indicated that he suffers from ill health and was also in dire financial straits, and from my observation he is a very unwell man,” said Hyman, noting that Bartley is asthmatic and suffers from poor circulation and bipolar disorder.
“He was extremely desperate, and it is unfortunate that sometimes desperation drives us to do things that we would not normally do,” Hyman added.
In handing down sentence, Judge Ashley noted that criminal decisions come with consequences for perpetrators.
“You will not be the first to be in a desperate situation. If you choose to take a criminal path, you must be prepared to face the consequences,” Ashley told Bartley.
In addition to the 10-month sentence, Bartley was ordered to pay a fine of $500,000 or spend six months in prison for possession of cocaine, and $1 million or six months for attempting to export cocaine, with the sentences to run consecutively if the fines are not paid. He was admonished and discharged for dealing in cocaine.
FALSE COMPARTMENTS
The facts are that on May 6, Bartley checked in at the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, St James, to board a flight to Birmingham, England. During a routine security screening, anomalies were detected in his carry-on bag, and both the bag and his suitcase were examined and subsequently found to have false compartments.
The compartments were examined, and a white powdery substance resembling cocaine was found. Bartley was subsequently arrested and charged.
Bartley is one of several British nationals who have been arrested and charged in recent weeks in relation to attempts to smuggle cocaine through Jamaica’s ports, with several having been held at the Sangster International Airport. The cocaine, which has been seized, has been estimated to value approximately $100 million.