A father of four was on Tuesday sentenced to four years in prison and fined $2.5M when he appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court to answer to a charge of having cocaine in his possession for the purpose of trafficking.
Julius Watkins, a 38-year-old taxi driver pleaded guilty to the charge when it was read to him by Chief Magistrate, Ann McLennan.
The court heard that between September 12 and September 15, Watkins swallowed 114 pellets laced with a total of 960 grams of cocaine, when he was attempting to board an outgoing flight to Canada. However, Customs Anti-Narcotic Unit (CANU) officers reportedly noticed him acting in a suspicious manner when he approached the scanning area. As such, the taxi driver was questioned, and taken to CANU Headquarters where he confessed to his offence and was subsequently transported to the Woodlands Hospital to excrete the illegal substance.
Watkins sought to justify his actions to the Chief Magistrate by explaining that he was facing a financial crisis and was unable to send his children to school. As such, he had taken up the job to earn extra income.
His sentence was made after Chief Magistrate McLennan took into consideration that he had not wasted the court’s time.
