A 34-year-old British woman was yesterday slapped with an 18-month prison sentence after pleading guilty to two counts of drug possession and dealing, when she appeared in the Half-Way-Tree Resident Magistrate's Court in Kingston.

Christine Rodriguez, a canteen assistant of a London address, twice attempted to export ganja to England, the court heard.

Rodriguez, court files say, was booked to travel to London on Air Jamaica flight number 001, on the 21st of December 2005. However, when she was checking in for her flight, she was stopped and interviewed by the police at the Norman Manley International Airport. Her luggage was searched, and the compressed ganja was found concealed in four Dasheens weighing about 9 pounds.

She was taken to court, where she was fined $9,600 for possession, $19,200 for dealing the drug and $48,000 for taking steps to export the weed.

Justice Martin Gayle also handed Rodriguez an 18-month sentence at hard labour.

She was also given a two-month mandatory sentence by Gayle.

In a previous court appearance, Rodriguez was fined $11,400 for possession of ganja, $22,800 for dealing in and $57,000 for steps to export ganja.

Magistrate Gayle told Rodriguez that if the fines were not paid, the sentences would run concurrently, including the previous six-month sentence for the first offence.

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