A Canadian drug mule was sentenced to more than eight years behind bars after he was caught with $1.9 million worth of cannabis.

Radcliff Brown, 54, from Mississauga, Ontario, pleaded guilty yesterday to importing a controlled drug into the island on March 13 last year.

The Supreme Court heard that a total of 19.5 kilograms of cannabis was found hidden in the lining of his baggage.

Puisne Judge Juan Wolffe sentenced Brown to 8½ years, and said that action needed to be taken to stem the flow of drugs into the island.

“It seems to me that Bermuda is the jurisdiction of convenience for the importation of cannabis, particularly from Canada,” he said.

“A message must be sent, not just to those in Canada but other places, that Bermuda cannot be a place where they can import drugs for no other means but profit at the expense of the health and safety of Bermudians.”

The Crown said Brown had flown to the island on an Air Canada flight shortly after noon on March 13, 2023 with two matching black suitcases.

Brown told customs offers that he was visiting Bermuda to attend a wedding and was scheduled to remain on the island for six days.

Customs officers put one of his bags through an X-ray, which revealed a number of suspicious rectangular objects inside.

A search of the bag revealed 20 vacuum-sealed packages hidden within the suitcase’s lining, while even more packages were found in the second suitcase.

Brown told officers that he had packed his own bags, but he said he had no knowledge of the packages or their contents.

The customs officers also noted that while the suitcases did contain clothing, no wedding attire was found.

Testing later revealed that the packages contained a combined 19,556.5 grams of cannabis.

The court heard that, if sold on the streets of Bermuda, the drugs could fetch as much as $1.955 million.

Elizabeth Christopher, counsel for Brown, said her client was a businessman who had fallen into financial hardship and was extremely remorseful for his actions.

“He was in a bit of a financial situation and he was asked to do it to alleviate himself from his financial situation,” she said.

“He does feel remorseful for having found himself in the situation that he found himself in.”

Brown himself apologised to the court, stating that his interactions at Westgate had highlighted the consequences of his actions.

“I’m sorry for what part I played, my selfish actions, and I will continue to be what I truly ought to be,” he said.

He added that he had made promises to less fortunate people whom he believed he could help and that he now hoped he could help others.

Mr Justice Wolffe said that the 8½-year sentence suggested by the Crown and the defence was at the low end of the spectrum given the quantity of drugs, but it was not unreasonable given Brown’s early guilty plea and lack of previous offences.

However, he added that should the trend of large-scale drug importation continue, stronger penalties should be considered to hammer home the message abroad that such offences will not be tolerated.

“I hope that in your journey towards rehabilitation that you also help other young men at Westgate to understand that there is an alternative way,” Mr Justice Wolffe said.

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