March 20, 2020

Trini Woman Escapes Cocaine Setup in St Maarten

By Newsroom

A Trinidadian woman, 38 year old Tanisha Sonelle Chan, and a St Lucian were both sentenced to  short prison terms in St Maarten after cocaine was found in their baggage at the airport. They were each carrying 1.6 kilos when they were arrested last November and told the judge that they were set up by a man known as Short Man. Tanisha and Jeanelle Rhonda Griffin were sentenced by the Court of First Instance, on Wednesday for having smuggled 3.28 kilogrammes of cocaine into St. Maarten on November 26, 2019, according to a report in the Daily Herald. The women were held by Customs at Princess Juliana International Airport on their arrival from Trinidad and Tobago. The illicit drugs were hidden behind panels in their suitcases. They both denied any knowledge of the drugs in their luggage and claimed they had been framed by a man identified as “Short Man”. Chan told the Judge she had been framed by a “bad” man and said  “I don’t know anything about the drugs,”  while insisting that she was not a drug smuggler. Chan was sentenced to two months for unintentional smuggling. As she had already spent this time in pre-trial detention, the judge ordered her release. She was flown out immediately while Griffin, who is a national of St. Lucia, will be sent home as soon as possible.
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