‘I don’t want to be in that kind of problem anymore’

WESTERN BUREAU:

Two Jamaica-born ex-convicts, who served prison sentences in the United States for cocaine trafficking, are looking back with regret at their past actions and motives for getting involved in the drug trade, determined never to go down that road again.

Joy Thorpe, who served 22 months in prison for smuggling half a kilogramme of cocaine through the John F. Kennedy Airport in New York in 2020, said her journey to hell began when she borrowed money from a friend for a medical procedure, following which the friend’s boyfriend approached her to carry an item abroad.

“I had a fibroid and I wanted to take it out, as it was giving me a lot of problems. This friend of mine lent me money, so I did the procedure, and then she sent her man to come to me after I told her that I was going to New York to buy hair because I sell hair and hair products. That led to everything that happened afterwards,” Thorpe recounted.

“The day when I was going to New York, that was the time the friend’s boyfriend arrived at my house ... . I ended up going from here to prison in America,” Thorpe added. “I do not sell drugs and I do not deal in drugs. I do not want to be in that kind of problem anymore.”

PREGNANT GIRLFRIEND

Maxwell*, who was deported from the United States in 2021 after serving 12 years for drug-related offences, said that his experience with drug-related crime started from a desire to provide for his pregnant girlfriend.

“My girlfriend was pregnant, and I was 19 years old. I tried working, and I used to do a delivery job, but it was not working out, and with peer pressure and the environment, I ended up getting involved in drugs. I started selling crack-cocaine, and I was hustling and selling drugs in Miami,” he told The Sunday Gleaner.

“I got charged for selling to an undercover police officer posing as a drug user, and I did two or three weeks in jail. Of course, when you get a slap on the wrist, you have a tendency to revert back to the same thing, and I ended up getting involved in drugs again,” he admitted. “The money was nice at the time, and the lifestyle that comes with it, and as a result, I kept going and going. Unfortunately, I got charged again with drug charges, and I ended up doing 12 years altogether.”

Both accounts are rooted in the need for money as the motive for getting involved in the drug trade.

And while these cases involve locals smuggling or dealing in drugs in the United States, there are also several cases of foreigners held attempting to smuggle drugs into and out of Jamaica, including through the Sangster International Airport.

Peter Champagnie, KC, who has represented defendants in cocaine-related matters, told The Sunday Gleaner that personal financial benefit is a common thread.

“The common link is for profit; it is always for profit, and to satisfy some economic need. Where you have criminal offences that are done or that is motivated by financial gain, that is where you need to have the sting when it comes on to sentencing. Those who plead guilty or are found guilty should pay a high price financially for it,” said Champagnie.

But while Thorpe and Maxwell have both resolved never to return to drug trafficking, their experiences in prison have left them with different outlooks.

Thorpe remembers her incarceration in the United States bitterly, as she described being mistreated, having no advocacy, and being served poor-quality food.

“People are in the lock-up being unfairly treated; people meet hell behind bars over there. Believe me. I have told the whole world, try not to get into it, especially in America, as we do not have anybody to represent us, and sometimes we do not even know the crime we committed.” said Thorpe. “At least we have chicken back here in Jamaica and it is cooked. When you go up there, it is not cooked chicken you get; it is cut up in the rice, and the rice is raw like when you scale fish at the seaside.”

In contrast, Maxwell spoke of the educational opportunities that he received while in prison, and of the realisation he got about the far-reaching impact of drug trafficking on families and society.

“We had privileges and rights, as you would get three meals a day, a clean uniform three days a week, and you could go to the chaplain or the library. If you want to take up a trade, you could take up a trade, and there were a lot of opportunities in prison that I capitalised on,” he told The Sunday Gleaner.

“I have seen the effect of drugs, so I would not advise anybody to get involved with it. I know the money is fast and very tempting, but no money in this world is worth your freedom. Think about the lives that are getting affected by drug use; it could affect somebody’s brother, dad, mom, or other family member.”

*Name changed on request.

christopher.thomas@gleanerjm.com