$1.4 Million Drug Charge: Man Jailed For 8 Years
[Updated with photo] 46-year-old Shannon Forth was sentenced to eight years in prison this afternoon [June 25] after admitting importing over $1.4 million worth of heroin.
The drugs were discovered on 6th December 2011 at the LF Wade Airport when Mr Forth, a Bermuda resident, arrived on a flight from Canada. In April of this year Mr Forth pleaded guilty to the charges, which involved 483.7 grams of heroin which the Prosecutor said would have made tens of thousands of “decks” once packaged for resale.
Sentence was passed by Justice Charles-Etta Simmons and followed after the prosecutor Cindy Clarke had recommended a stiffer sentence in the range 10 – 15 years, while defence lawyer Elizabeth Christopher had argued for a lighter sentence between 10 – 12 years.
In seeking the lower sentence, Ms Christopher had offered that Mr Forth was a long time drug addict who had imported the drug both to feed his own addiction and also to sell to help maintain his habit.
She said that this placed Mr Forth in a category different from a person who imported drugs purely for commercial gain and were not, themselves, addicted to the substance. Ms Christopher said that Mr Forth was a small player. She said that Mr Forth was remorseful, had fully cooperated with authorities, and had pleaded guilty early in the case.
On his own behalf, Mr Forth said, “I am aware that I made a terrible mistake. Since my arrest I’ve had a chance to turn my life around….I’m sorry for what I’ve caused my greater family – Bermuda.”
Justice Simmons ordered that Mr Forth should be required to attend drug rehabilitation courses and programs while he is in prison. Time already served on remand will be taken into consideration.
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Drugs are killing the family! Any drug, alcohol, marijuana, heroin, crystal meth.
All the big thinkers Say we need more education! Well, we have had more educatiOn for decades. What do we have to show for it? NOTHING!
We needed more education for teen pregnancy. What did that do? It taught teens how to have sex correctly, like they would never find out, how to use condoms so all the kids said if I buy these I can have sex without consequences. End result more kids havinG sex which eventually leads to unprotected sex, which then leads to pregnancy or worse, STD.
So, end result is we have MORE education and the problems are worse. We actually needed mom and dad to teach and DISCIPLINE the children but the pin headed academics that took all the right classes in college and university. Although they never reared a child or knew that some children are different than others they do know that time outs and no spanking are better tools to raise a child.
And now you look at the end result and hold your head in your hands and hope for the best. Then the teachers will strike for more money while the kids are comong out dumber than when they went in.
And the most retarded comment award goes to….
Thanks for smashing his balls .
Is 8 years the strongest message we can send for 1.4M worth of drugs. If the past is any indicator, he may be out in 4…
I just don’t understand the disconnect between the courts and the streets.
THat 1.4 million in Heroin would have been responsible for destroying the lives of many, many people and destroying many a family. Sad thing is that this good for nothing individual will be out of jail in six years (with good behavior)while the path of destruction that he left behind with his previously successful drug imports will live on.
The heroin he has likely imported in the past has destroyed lives of the users and their families and emptied bank accounts. The addicted users will likely target their neighbours homes and break in looking for cash and gold to sell and the Bermuda Tax Payer will have to the support the addicts methadone clinic visits for years or decades. This drug dealer / predator needed another 20 year sentance thrown at him.
Im continuosly disappointed in our judicial system and in particular the sentances handed down to these predators. We the public have a tendency to blame the police, when we need to start making more noise and shame the judges and lawyers that support these criminals through their actions.
well if the health care system here takes hold of these drugs and distributed them to addicts in a safe clinical environment with clean needles it takes away the dangerous health risks perceived with heroin use. not to mention they wouldnt need to rob and steal to feed their habit.
you are only sorry that you were caught!
So the prosecution sought 10-15 years, and the defence recommended 10-12 years, and the judge gave 8 years. I know the judge has the final say, but when even the defence suggests a range starting at 10 years, why give 8?
Another “stellar” decision from the courts. More interested in the “rights” of criminials than in the right of society to be protected.
I agree – where is the common sense of this judge?
Good point! That makes no sense at all.
smh
Throw the book at this hag. No mercy.
first of all 450 grams aint worth no 1.4million. his lawayer coulda done her homework better than that! smh and and shame on the courts for addin on wat the total value was really worth. 1 kilo has a street value about 1million nt a half!!
I agree, if you ask an addict what they pay for a gram of dope & multiply that by the amount this guy brought its not even close to half of $1.4 million. Also tens of thousands of “decks” once packaged for resale? What do these people think dealers do? Sell milligram baggies? Its funny how they falsely pointed out but nevertheless pointed out how much the dope could be split up into but I’ve never known a case where they point out how much crack someone caught with coke could make from the amount they had. Even though all this is interesting its not surprising when the law here will arrest someone for growing cannabis plants that doesn’t have a single bud on it but charged them for a perceived yield amount even though every plant could turn out to be a male with a total amount of thc found in the hemp cereal sold at lindos.
Justice Charles-Etta Simmons is an admiral lady……in the eyes of the drug dealers, rapists and murderers! Her judgements are just what this island needs at this time.
ok so send him away for a exrta 500 grams that he didnt bring in! lol smh
U people call 4 stiffer sentencing then complain we don’t have any damn money 2 feed the people doing what they supposed 2 smh jailing people bankrupts the system as it is and yall want stiffer sentences? For certain crimes I agree yes throw the book but is 450grams really worth 8 years? Think about it. It’s bad enough his chances of employment will now be minimum do to this conviction when he gets out which will probably drive him back 2 crime life, the drugs won’t reach the streets, well at least not by his accord so really I ask again is 8 years really worth 450grams? And lastly in no way do I condone this but there are cheaper ways of handling this!!
It’s more than a little suspicious that the judge gave far less time than even the defence had recommended! It makes me wonder if she even realises the mayhem that drugs are causing in Bermuda! Can you say DISCONNECT!
What mayhem are you referring to? Cannabis was introduced to Bermuda as early as the 17 hundreds, heroin in the 1920s & cocaine/crack in the 80′s. The mayhem in Bermuda only started in this millennium through a gang culture that developed from the profitability of high priced prohibited substances. I agree that there is a disconnect in the justice system here but you & many others in this world have a disconnect in knowing what really causes drug related crimes & how many besides the dealers legally profit from the so called mayhem. Without the mayhem many police officers, judges, lawyers, lab analyst & many others would not be able to make a living.
I wish we could just ship the lot of them off our island never to return..but nobody wants them!
1g = 300-500$
$500*480g = $240,000
8 years in prison = 8*$80000= $640,000
4 years for good behavior = $320,000
serious long term heroin users have been known to tolerate between 250mg-500mg a day (in extreme cases as high as a gram)
if he were used 500mg a day for a year he would have used 182.5g himself (182.5*500 = ($91,250) and i suppose the remainder could be used to support a family/lifestyle
If my math is correct I wouldn’t mind him coming out in 4 years. If not please forgive me if my pricing per gram is way off that is my assumption based on prices overseas, then inflated for Bermuda’s exaggerated drug pricing.
I say legalize everything under the sun. It would make it cheap, available, and hygienic and it would take money away from undesirables. When you buy a 6 pack of beer you’re probably not buying it from someone with gang connections. Let people choose what to do with their lives.
They only get off if they are professors at maybe Harvard University or Oxford, Cambridge, MIT. Anybody else that is deemed uneducated can go right to jail do not pass go and do not collect $200.00.