A Bermudan man was yesterday fined $25,600 and ordered deported from the country after pleading guilty to trying to export ganja from Jamaica in the covers of two Jamaican cookbooks.

According to court documents, last Friday Kamal Anees, 37, a housekeeper from Grotta Hill in Somerset, Bermuda, was about to board a flight to Gatwick, London when he was stopped by airport security officials and his black suitcase searched in his presence.

During the search, the officials found two multi-coloured books titled Authentic Recipes from Jamaica and Real Taste of Jamaica, which were both found to have compressed ganja hidden in their covers. Two lbs of ganja were seized during the search.

When Anees appeared in court yesterday, he was sentenced by presiding magistrate Judith Pusey to pay $3,200 for possession of ganja, $6,400 for dealing in ganja and $16,000 for taking steps to export ganja from Jamaica. Should Anees fail to pay the fines, he will spend three months behind bars.

Anees was also ordered to be deported from the country after facing his sentence.