KINGSTON, Jamaica – Three Nicaraguans and two Costa Ricans were sentenced in the Savanna-la-Mar Resident Magistrate’s Court in Westmoreland on Wednesday, following their conviction on drug-related charges.

They are 32-year-old Gomez Cortez and 18-year-old Jurgen Rodriquez from Costa Rica, while the Nicaraguans have been identified as 26-year-old Wayne Coleman, 23-year-old Victor Perez Aguilera and 49-year-old Roy Sambola.

The men were busted close to midnight on January 14 by officers from the Transnational Crime and Narcotics Division (TCND) who had been carrying out an operation in the Big Bridge area of Westmoreland.

Their 40-boat was searched and 356 pounds of ganja, with an estimated street value of $1.2 million found.

Coleman, Aguilera, Sambola and Cortez were each fined $15,000 or six months for possession of ganja, in addition to $500,000 or six months for taking steps to export ganja and were each sentenced to a mandatory 12 months’ imprisonment.

Jurgen Rodriguez was fined $15,000 or three months for possession of ganja, $500,000 or three months for taking steps to export ganja and was given a mandatory sentence of six months.

The boat was forfeited to the Crown. The men are to be deported after serving their sentences.