A man was sentenced to four years in prison yesterday after he admitted his role in a 2018 drug plot.

Kanhai Fray, 38, admitted conspiring with others to import $311,905 worth of cannabis to the island between an unknown date and August 28, 2018.

He also pleaded guilty to a charge of possessing the controlled drug with intent to supply.

Delivering a four-year sentence for both offences, ordered to run concurrently, Puisne Judge Juan Wolffe said: “Drugs have torn this country asunder.

“Anyone who imports into these islands drugs should expect to receive an immediate custodial sentence.”

During a 2022 trial, the Supreme Court heard that customs officials stopped Fray and another man, Zadun Robinson, after they arrived on a flight from Toronto.

Fray told officers he had travelled for a funeral and Mr Robinson said he had been on holiday.

A search of their bags revealed a series of silver packages hidden behind hard, plastic barriers.

Both men were also found to have “memorial badges”, although Fray’s had been modified to alter the date of death from 2013 to 2018.

Police also discovered a series of WhatsApp messages between Fray and another individual on his phone.

One message received by Fray two days before his arrest read: “Make sure when you guys are coming back you look like you guys went to a funeral. Church clothes. Go with the whole thing.”

While both men were arrested at the airport, Fray left the country before the case could come to court.

Mr Robinson denied the charges and told the court that Fray had, after hearing that he intended to go to Toronto, suggested that they could travel together and stay with one of his friends.

He said that after he arrived in Canada, he found the zipper to his suitcase was broken, and the host offered to lend him a suitcase.

Mr Robinson told the court he had no reason to suspect that the suitcase contained cannabis, and a jury found him not guilty by a unanimous verdict.

Fray was brought back to the Bermuda courts in 2023, with the court hearing that he had been living in Britain since leaving the island.

After pleading guilty yesterday, Fray apologised to the court, stating that he was sorry for his actions.

Mr Justice Wolffe said the drugs could have caused untold damage to the community had they not been intercepted.

“I trust and hope that you will use your time at Westgate wisely,” he said. “I hope that when you are released you are a credit to society and take steps to right your wrongs.”

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