By Alric Lindsay
Milan Austin Heath II and Adam Scott Zucker appeared in the Summary Court today, December 24, 2024, to face charges of importing cannabinol derivatives in the form of gummies. They pleaded guilty, had no convictions recorded and were fined.
Heath’s charges
According to Crown Counsel Kenneth Ferguson, 47-year-old Heath arrived in the Cayman Islands on December 21 on Southwest Airlines from Baltimore, Maryland.
Customs & Border Control officers did an X-ray of his luggage and examined its contents. CBC officers found a bottle of 12 gummies labelled CBC and THC Delta 9.
Heath was arrested for suspicion of importation of a controlled drug, namely cannabinol derivatives.
Reportedly, Heath explained during this interview that he was unaware of the laws in the Cayman Islands, and he used gummies for joint pain.
The Chief Magistrate ordered an unconditional discharge after hearing from Crown Counsel and defence counsel. No conviction is recorded, and he must pay the Crown $600 in costs or spend six weeks in jail in default. His passport is to be released on payment.
Zucker’s charges
Turning to Zucker, Crown Counsel noted that he arrived at the Owen Roberts International Airport on Saturday, December 21, on a Jet Blue flight from New York.
When his luggage passed through the X-ray scanner, two small Ziploc bags containing 20 gummies were discovered.
Reportedly, Zucker initially told CBC officers that the gummies were only candy. However, when he was told that the gummies would be subject to a forensic analysis, he admitted that they contained THC.
Zucker was subsequently arrested, interviewed and cautioned.
Arguing on Zucker’s behalf, his attorney noted that Zucker is from New York, works in finance and was in the Cayman Islands for the first time to spend Christmas with his family.
Explaining his predicament, his attorney said:
… one can imagine the shock and quite frankly the terror of a man of his age who’s never been in trouble at all in his life, being arrested in front of his family at the airport, carted off to a detention centre, being booked in, fingerprinted and mugshotted and interviewed, and now appearing in a courtroom for the first time in his life as well.
His attorney added:
It has been a very stressful and scary time for Mr. Zucker, not knowing plainly the laws of the Cayman Islands and how things may play out for him.
His attorney continued:
As your honour is becoming increasingly aware, use of these substances in the United States to treat and conditions like anxiety and sleep disorders etcetera, is very widespread, very commonplace.
And individuals pack these items into their luggage just like they may pack some pills for a headache or for a fever as part of their daily supplements.
And that perhaps explains why there is a careless attitude, because there is now a culture and attitude in other countries that these things are part of the daily routine.
His attorney concluded:
Your honour can imagine that for various professional and personal reasons, Mr. Zucker’s clean criminal record is very precious to him.
And I do ask the court to please give serious consideration to exercising the discretion that it has not to record a conviction in this particular case. He understands, your honour, that there will be a financial penalty.
After hearing from Crown and defence counsel, the Chief Magistrate found extenuating circumstances in Zucker’s case and gave him an unconditional discharge with no conviction recorded. Zucker was also fined $1,000 or 10 weeks in default. His passport will be released on payment.
