(CMR) Adrian Frederick Scales (26), a visitor from the US found guilty in 2023 of smuggling 90 milligrams of pure fentanyl into the Cayman Islands, is expected to be sentenced next month.
Scales was caught at the Owen Roberts International Airport in October 2022 with the fentanyl powder in his backpack. He denied importing the drug but, at the time of his arrest, made no effort to explain the presence of the deadly drug.
During the trial, he told the court he was unaware he was in possession of the drug because he had loaned the bag to someone else. However, Magistrate Phillipa McFalane did not accept that explanation, and he was found guilty.
However, because Scales was the first person convicted of fentanyl-related crimes in the Cayman Islands, the prosecution asked that the court consult with the United States FBI on the dangers of the drug before a sentence was handed down.
It is not known if the courts had managed to consult with the FBI. Scales was to be sentenced on January 19; however, the matter has again been postponed to February 13 for a hearing. He has been remanded in custody.
In 2022, the Cayman Islands Customs and Border Control Service (CBC) expressed concerns about the increase in importation of fentanyl.
Last year three people were arrested after some 200 fentanyl tablets were intercepted at the post office.
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