A man who won $1.9 million in damages from the Bermuda Hospitals Board after his wife died of cancer has been jailed in Britain for drug offences.

Kemar Maybury, who now lives in Brighton, was arrested in March 2020 – less than two months after a court ruled he deserved the money for medical negligence linked to his wife Latifa’s cancer.

She died in November 2013.

A press release on the Sussex Police website said that Maybury was jailed for four years for cannabis possession and “being concerned in the supply” of cannabis.

But Maybury’s brother said reports – in the police release and other media – that the 40-year-old recruited children to help supply drugs were “ludicrous and reckless”.

He added: “No one was incarcerated for using children to distribute drugs.”

But the brother said: “I don’t condone him being in possession of illegal drugs when the laws of the land state that that’s illegal.”

He added that the money awarded by the BHB was “wisely” invested.

The Sussex Police press release said that Maybury was arrested after he was stopped on a motorway.

Officers went in search of him after the mother of a 13-year-old girl, who was found to be a passenger in his car, raised concerns about her welfare.

The press release said: “A search of the vehicle discovered cannabis and a further search of Maybury’s home address found cannabis plants.”

It added that Maybury was charged with taking a child without authority, being concerned in the supply of a Class B drug cannabis, being in possession of the drug and cultivating cannabis plants.

The press release said: “He pleaded guilty to possession of a Class B drug and cultivating cannabis plants and denied the other two charges.

“At Lewes Crown Court on Friday, October 29, Maybury was found guilty of being concerned in the supply of a Class B drug – cannabis – but a judge instructed the jury there was no case to answer in relation to taking a child without authority.

“Maybury was sentenced to four years in jail for the three guilty verdicts.”

The man’s brother said that the $1.9 million BHB award, made in January 2020, highlighted the “ludicrousness and recklessness” of reports that claimed he used children for drugs distribution.

He added: “The fact of the matter is it’s somebody getting booked for having some weed on them, there is no monster using children to distribute anything.

“Kemar’s a millionaire multiple times over, there’s no benefit to selling dime bags in the UK, using college children, it’s just stupid.”

Maybury’s brother said: “What incentive would there be to do that?

“You Google his name and you get one article saying he’s a millionaire multiple times over, you have another one saying he’s selling dime bags in the UK – that’s stupid.”

He added that his brother had "invested the money wisely“ after his successful legal action against the BHB.

Chief Justice Narinder Hargun ruled that Maybury deserved the award because his wife would have been “treatable for cure” for colorectal cancer if an emergency room doctor at the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital had not failed to detect a rectal tumour and if the hospital had not failed to ensure that faxed medical notes were received by the patient's GP.

The case was brought against the BHB after Mrs Maybury, 30, died when the couple’s son was just six months old.

She had terminal colorectal cancer diagnosed days after the baby was born, having not known she had the disease before conception and throughout her pregnancy.

Maybury’s brother said that the conviction about being concerned in the supply of cannabis would have to be confirmed with the court.

The Royal Gazette was unable to contact the court yesterday.

Maybury’s brother said: “Kemar has no history of being a supplier … that has no basis in reality from what I understand of my brother, who I’ve known 40 years, especially when there’s literally millions of dollars in your life, that’s being managed responsibly.

“He’s not out there living like a kingpin. He set up a trust for his child, he set up a coming-of-age fund for his child, he put money into low risk investments.”

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