A 35-year-old drug smuggler has been fined $1,000 and given a suspended sentence after admitting bringing cannabis into Bermuda.

Shuaib Worrell, of Pembroke, had pleaded guilty to importing a controlled drug last month.

He was detained at LF Wade International Airport in September last year because he was acting suspiciously and later admitted that he had pellets of cannabis inside him.

The drugs were recovered at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital and weighed 13.42 grams.

At his sentencing in Magistrates’ Court this morning, Worrell apologised for the “awful thing I’ve done”.

He said: “It was completely out of character. I was quite foolish. It’s been really painful and been a deterrent for me already.

“I apologise to my family and the Crown for committing this offence; it weighs heavily on my shoulders. If there was a message to be learnt, it’s been learnt.

“I’ve felt the full weight of this misplaced judgment. It’s been a difficult spell for me. I’m a person who made a mistake.”

Taking into account Worrell’s early admission of guilt and the amount of cannabis involved, Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo sentenced him to three months in prison suspended for 12 months, probation for 12 months and a $1,000 fine to be paid by January 30 or he would spend 100 days in Westgate Correctional Facility.

Mr Tokunbo told Worrell he had used “poor judgment” and “took a gamble, a gamble you lost”.