UPDATE: St Kitts national Shawn Duporte charged for cannabis in toothpaste bust
![An individual who travelled from the [British] Virgin Islands to Sk Kitts and Nevis on December 12, 2022, has been arrested in the Federation after suspected cannabis was found in tubes of toothpaste that were in the man’s luggage. Photo: RSCNPF](https://www.virginislandsnewsonline.com/cache/images/800x_3_319154717_875855523444472_6420480031642034410_n.jpg)
39-year-old Shawn Duporte, who resides in Tortola, was charged by both the Royal St Christopher and Nevis Police Force and the St Kitts and Nevis Customs and Excise Department on December 13, 2022.
Charges
Police charged Duporte for the offences of Possession of Cannabis with Intent to Supply and Importation of Cannabis.
Additionally, Duporte was charged by Customs Officers for the offences of Submitting a False Declaration to a Customs Officer, Concealment of Goods, Importation of Restricted Items and Fraudulent Evasion with respect to the importation of a restricted item.
Duporte received bail in the sum of EC$50,000 with two sureties with the conditions that he is to report to the Old Road Police Station twice per week and surrender all travel documents.
He is to appear before the Basseterre Magistrate's Court on February 6, 2023.
See previous article published December 14, 2022
Individual who travelled from VI held in St Kitts for drugs in toothpaste tubes
An individual who travelled from the [British] Virgin Islands to Sk Kitts and Nevis on December 12, 2022, has been arrested in the Federation after suspected cannabis was found in tubes of toothpaste that were in luggage belonging to them.
According to a press release from the Royal St Christopher and Nevis Police Force (RSCNPF) on December 13, 2022, the individual was taken into custody following a drug bust at the Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport.
It said officers from the Anti-Narcotics Unit responded to a call for assistance from the St Kitts and Nevis Customs and Excise Department on December 12, 2022.
Herbal toothpaste?
As a result, they visited the airport sometime after midday and the luggage of an individual “who had arrived on a flight from Tortola” was examined.
Nine (9) tubes of Colgate toothpaste containing vegetable material suspected to be cannabis were found and taken into Police custody.
Investigations into the matter are ongoing.
Our newsroom will provide more details to this story.
On July 31, 2019, a bill was passed by the National Assembly of St Kitts and Nevis to decriminalise up to 15 grams of cannabis, punishable by $50 fine. For public use, the fine was set at $1000.
In February 2020, the National Assembly raised the allowed amount of cannabis to 56 grams.
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42 Responses to “UPDATE: St Kitts national Shawn Duporte charged for cannabis in toothpaste bust”
What it is really , is a shame on BVI airport screening process! Their priorities are all wrong and they will keep getting expose if they do not do better!
You are so right. They are only intetested in playing important by being disrespectful instead of doing their jobs efficiently.
Who say the BVI security did not see? They just allow him to get caught when he reached his destination. I'm mist times the country that you exit from the authority already notice your destin country. So when you arrive they turn you you up and catch you.
An individual who travelled from Bvi, but yet,, they found vegetable like substance in their luggages.
An individual would be his_/ her,or it , not
It is about time this thing stop; all you doing is using this to arrest people and messing up their lives. Free up the weed. because alcohol is must dangerous that a little weed.
Beyond that; why would take weed into a island that you know will have weed. Its cheaper for you coming from a US dollar island into a EC dollar island. So therefore you could of spend 20 or maybe even 40 and get the same amount you carried there in those toothpaste.
Which such I say the award for dumbest smuggler goes to whoever you are sir/madam.
I won’t quite judge by that