Man fails to declare $13k to Customs
Sinclair, who previously pleaded not guilty to the offence, appeared unrepresented before Magistrate Dr Velon L. John yesterday, March 4, 2014 at the Magistrate’s Court.
The defendant offered an explanation for the offence after pleading guilty, which suggested he did not know how much money was in his possession but Magistrate John reversed his guilty plea and advised that he stand trial.
Sinclair was an employee of Smith’s Ferry at the time when Customs officers conducted a search on the vessel, ‘Bomba Charger’ which arrived from St. Thomas at Road Town between 3 and 3:30 P.M. on April 11, 2012 and allegedly discovered a back pack in a wooden compartment in the wheel house of the vessel.
In the bag was a vacuum bag wrapped with duct tape. Inside the vacuum bag was said to be a large amount of cash, which was later discovered to be $13,325.
The defendant allegedly told Customs that the money was given to him by one of his co-workers, Cupid, who disembarked at West End, adding that the co-worker was supposed to collect the money at the cleaning hole at Road Reef Marina where Smith’s boats are kept.
During an interview with the police, Sinclair allegedly said he did not know how much money was in the bag and that he stored the bag containing the monies in a general locker in the wheel house. It is alleged that the defendant admitted that he did not have any intention of declaring the monies to Customs.
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11 Responses to “Man fails to declare $13k to Customs”
See how we don't like it when someone tries to avoid paying tax?
Imagine how the rest of the world feel about us providing secret safe havens for people doing this on a billion-dollar scale.
Same ting.