Four Men Plead Guilty To Ganja Importation & Three Deny Cocaine Charge

By Alric Lindsay

A narcotics importation case split down the middle today, October 16, 2026, as one co-defendant admitted his role in a 2.04-kilogram cocaine importation operation, while three others maintained their innocence.

Alverang Anthony Levy entered a straight guilty plea to the counts of importing cocaine and Ganja arising from a maritime interception on August 14, 2025.

Conversely, his co-defendants—Ricky William Manderson, Erick Anthony Bandoo, and Garwayne Benjamin—each pleaded not guilty to the cocaine importation charges. Instead, the trio pleaded guilty to the counts of importing Ganja.

Additionally, Manderson entered not guilty pleas to three specific counts of Illegal Landing. It is understood that the Crown alleged that Manderson, while acting as a captain or person in control of a vessel, unlawfully caused Levy, Bandoo, and Benjamin to land in the Cayman Islands.

Justice Richards remanded the defendants and scheduled a jury trial for the contesting trio to begin next year.