A 40-year-old American woman who is four months pregnant has been fined $3,000 after cannabis was discovered in her luggage at the airport as she prepared to depart Antigua. According to Antigua News Room, the incident has resulted in a guilty plea before the island's Chief Magistrate.
The discovery was made on March 25 in the airport's oversized baggage area, where security personnel raised an alert. Responding police officers found multiple packages of cannabis in the luggage of Keishell Labeach, including two transparent bags, two Ziploc bags, and several capsules. Court records indicate the drugs weighed 163.4 grammes and were valued at $1,634.
Labeach appeared before Chief Magistrate Ngaio Emanuel and pleaded guilty to the offence. Her attorney, Wendel Alexander, told the court that she had forgotten the cannabis was in her suitcase, and noted that she is of Antiguan parentage.
The court ordered Labeach to pay the $3,000 fine within 14 days or face a six-month prison term. The cannabis was confiscated.
