St Catherine court fines two men $100,000 each over undocumented cassava haul

Two men left the St Catherine Parish Court on Monday facing $100,000 fines or two months behind bars after admitting roles in a roadside seizure of four bags of cassava valued at $50,000 and carried without the paperwork the law requires.

Marvin Rodney, of Linstead, St Catherine, faced a charge of failing to have a receipt. Herman Golding, of Clarendon, was charged with failing to issue a receipt. Both entered guilty pleas and each received the $100,000 fine, with two months’ imprisonment as the alternative.

Wayne Barrieffe, the third accused and the driver of the vehicle holding the cassava tubers, pleaded guilty with an explanation but did not turn up for the hearing. Senior Parish Court Judge Desiree Alleyne ordered a warrant for his arrest.

Judge Alleyne cut an initial $200,000 fine to the amount imposed after defence lawyers asked for a reduction. She told the men the court had already shown restraint, pointing out that the statute allows a penalty of up to $3 million.

Prosecutors outlined that on March 25, 2026, police stopped a motor vehicle on the Time and Patience main road in St Catherine. A search turned up the four bags of cassava, assessed at $50,000, and officers sought the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) receipt that should have accompanied the produce.

Rodney told police he had bought the cassava from Golding in May Pen, Clarendon. Investigators later arrested Golding when he went to Linstead. After question-and-answer sessions, charges were laid against all three men.