Hispanic man jailed for 6 months and fined 58K for cocaine

His Majesty’s Prison will be the home of Elni Barnarld of the Dominican Republic for the next six months after he was found with a large amount of cocaine on a fishing vessel.

Barnarld was also slapped with a $58,000 fine by Magistrate Ngaio Emanuel after he appeared in court for sentencing today.

On May 26 at approximately 1 a.m., officers, went to a wharf where they spotted a 20-foot vessel named “Lenci 2” being operated by Cleveland Telemaque.

They intercepted the vessel and conducted a search, which resulted in the discovery of five brick-like substances resembling cocaine, as well as a cooler containing Yoplait drinks.

Telemaque and Barnarld were both on the boat and were therefore taken to the police station and subsequently charged for the drugs which weighed 10.9 pounds in total.

The controlled substance has an estimated street value of $173,047.

Barnarld, 29, admitted to possession of the drugs and intent to transfer in the All Saints Magistrate’s court on Tuesday while Telemaque denied the claims.

Telemaque was then freed of the charges but his co-accused spent a day in prison and was brought back for sentencing today.

Although he will be behind bars for the next 6 months, he also has to pay the state $58,000 within four months or spend an additional 18 months in prison.

Meanwhile, in a separate joint exercise on the same day, officers from the Narcotics Department, supported by members of the Customs Task Force, found a dark-blue barrel with multiple vacuum-sealed packages containing marijuana at Deep Water Harbour at around 12 p.m.

A total of 56 packages weighing 56 pounds were counted. The estimated street value of the seized marijuana is $336,000.

The barrel and its contents were transported to Police Headquarters for further investigation