Two men from Tortola, who were caught with nearly 170 kilograms of cocaine aboard a sailboat on Feb. 5, 2011, were sentenced in an Antiguan High Court on Friday, according to the Antigua Observer newspaper.
Lloyd Free, 38, previously admitted to possession, and Luke Joseph, 61, pleaded guilty to possession and possession with intent “to transfer the class ‘A’ drug,” reports said.
They were sentenced to six years and three years, respectively. Mr. Frett was also fined $100,000, and Mr. Joseph was fined $300,000, according to the newspaper.
The two men were passing through Jolly Harbour, on the southwest side of the island, on a 35-foot sailboat when they were intercepted by the Antigua police and officers from the country’s Office of National Drug and Money Laundering Control Policy.
Police discovered five sealed packages containing 169.65 kilograms of cocaine on board the vessel, according to the Observer.
The newspaper, which valued the cocaine at $2.2 million in an article posted March 1, previously reported that it was worth $24 million. In the Virgin Islands, cocaine is typically valued at roughly $100,000 per kilogram, which would value the 169.65 kilograms at close to $17 million.
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