MONTEGO BAY, St James — ANTHONY Whittaker, a 40-year-old British citizen, was last week sentenced to 12 months at hard labour and fined over $300,000 after pleading guilty to trying to smuggle over 60 pounds of ganja out of the island.

Whittaker, whom the Montego Bay Resident Magistrate’s Court heard is a self-employed landscaper and labourer of a Darwin, London address, was arrested along with his 45-year-old fiancé Debbie Kehoe, but the woman was released after Whittaker took full responsibility for the drug find.

He was arrested on September 23 after the ganja was found hidden in bags marked as coffee in his luggage at the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay.

In mitigation, his attorney, Dalton Reid, told the court that he was seeking to raise money for his wedding to Kehoe and was told that he would be taking back “only 20 pounds” of the weed.

Reid also told the court the accused man did not even know how much he would be paid for the job.

Whittaker was fined $15,000 or three months for possession of ganja; $100,000 or three months for dealing in ganja, and $200,000 or three months for taking steps to export ganja.

Additionally he will serve 12 months for attempting to export ganja and an additional three months if the fines are not paid.