After being found unanimously guilty by a Supreme Court jury, a Jamaican national was sentenced to 14 years behind bars yesterday.

Leighton Horace Griffiths’ lengthy sentence for cocaine possession with intent to supply follows less than a week after another Jamaican man was sent to prison for 18 years for importing $300,000 worth of heroine and cannabis.

Griffiths, 33, of King Street, Pembroke, was convicted Wednesday of having in his possession 480.52 grams — $144,500 street value.

He was arrested on July 1, 2005 when he went to the LF Wade International Airport to collect an air compressor stuffed with drugs

Griffiths — father of two young children — was represented by defence lawyer Mark Pettingill while Robert Welling represented the Crown.

The defence contended Griffiths was merely picking up the drugs for another person.

During the sentencing yesterday, Crown counsel Nicole Smith argued Griffiths should get 12 to 14 years for attempting to “shred this community of its social fibres”.

Ms Smith pointed out punishment for such an offence could be life imprisonment, a fine of $1 million dollars or payment of three times the street value of the drugs.

She said society needs to be protected from individuals like the defendant.

Mr. Pettingill argued his client should not get more than ten years because the man for whom he was picking up the package was not charged.

“It’s startling that a charge was not brought against the other person,” Mr. Pettingill said. “That individual is walking away scot-free. It’s not like we have an unknown player here who has skipped off.”

“How is it that in our system, the key player, the man with convictions, a known drug dealer is out there and a man with two young children and no convictions is going to jail because he went to pick up a package for that man? Why was that man not here facing justice?”

In delivering the sentence, Puisne Judge Charles-Etta Simmons told Griffiths he was clearly involved from start to finish and penalties for drug offences are severe.

He was sentenced to 14 years at Westgate Correctional Facility.