A 32-year-old San Juan woman has been fined $40,000 after admitting to receiving barrels that contained five high-powered firearms and a large cache of ammunition, which arrived in the country via shipping containers.
Hafiesha Dillon pleaded guilty to importing prohibited items and received the fine from Magistrate Brian Debideen during a virtual hearing on Tuesday.
According to the evidence in the case, Dillon was arrested by officers of the Customs and Excise Division after they received a tip-off about her collecting the barrels from a Piarco Air Services warehouse in El Socorro on May 31, 2017.
The shipping barrels consigned to Dillon were searched in her presence and the officers found three AR-15 assault rifles, one shotgun, one sniper rifle and over three hundred rounds of assorted ammunition hidden in bags of dog chow, flour and other household items.
Dillon was charged with breaching Section 213(a) of the Customs Act, which carries a maximum penalty of a $50,000 fine or treble the value of the goods, whichever is greater, and eight years in prison.
After Dillon pleaded guilty, her lawyer Kelston Pope admitted that the offence was a strict liability one, meaning that prosecutors did not have to prove that Dillon intended the illegal importation.
However, Pope referred to several legal precedents under which judicial officers were advised to consider lenient sentences to persons guilty of strict liability offences without any intent.
Pope noted that the evidence in the case showed that Dillon did not have knowledge about the contents of the barrels because when they were being searched, she received a phone call and accused the caller of setting her up.
Magistrate Debideen agreed with Pope and decided on the fine for Dillon. He stated that Dillon was lucky to receive a non-custodial sentence as he lamented the proliferation of illegal weapons in T&T.
Dillon was also represented by Devvon Williams while Shirley Sheppard represented the division.
