By Tashieka Mair, Star Writer

WESTERN BUREAU

A Briton who tried to leave the country with ganja disguised in scented candles and coffee, will spend the first three months of the new year behind Jamaican prison bars.

Deliveryman Floyd Davis, 43, of South London, was handed the jail time in the Montego Bay Resident Magistrate's Court on Tuesday.

He pleaded guilty to possession, dealing and attempting to export less than six kilograms of ganja. Davis was also fined $15,000 for possession and $75,000 for attempting to export. If the fines are not paid, he will serve six additional months in prison.

The father of four told RM Winsome Henry that the drug was for his personal use as it relieves the discomfort he suffers from an overactive thyroid gland and hypertension. He said however that he did not think he had so much ganja.

"To be honest I only bought 5 pounds, but I guess they (dealers) liked me so they sent through in a little extra," stated Davis, who has a previous conviction for a similar offence.

He also complained about the uncomfortable jail condition, saying that the few days he spent at Freeport were almost similar to spending three months in a foreign prison.

"If you think Freeport is bad wait until you get to the General Penitentiary," RM Henry told him.

The facts are that about 6:30 p.m. on December 30, Mr. Davis checked in a suitcase for an Air Jamaica flight to Kingston with connections to Heathrow Airport in London, England.

The suitcase he was carrying was searched and 10 bottles of scented candles were found containing ganja. Another bag that was inside that suitcase was also searched and four packages of ganja were seized from four bags of coffee.