Cummings, who has been on trial before the St James Parish Court, bore a resigned look on his face as he received the verdict and sentencing date from presiding judge Kaysha Grant Pryce on Wednesday.

Cummings was being tried on the charges of possession of, dealing in, trafficking, and conspiracy to traffic 17 kilogrammes of cocaine. He was found guilty on the first three charges, while the court offered no-evidence on the conspiracy charge.

While handing down the verdict, Grant Pryce stated that her decision was based on the prosecution’s evidence that Cummings knew about the cocaine being hidden on the Toyota Hiace minibus he was driving at the time of his detention on March 7, 2022.

“In this case, which is of utmost importance, the court has in fact established that the accused man had cocaine in his possession and that he knew that what he had was in fact cocaine. There is nothing to say that this man never had control of this vehicle all the while, and there is inconsistency with the evidence given by the Crown,” said Grant Pryce.

The judge also addressed a claim made by Cummings’ attorney Henry McCurdy that the defendant had borrowed the bus to transport painting materials because his own vehicle had broken down, and that he had no knowledge of the cocaine being in the bus.

“You are borrowing a bus because your vehicle is ‘bucking’. People you do not know are loading items into the vehicle, and you never even looked into the back of the vehicle at all?” Grant Pryce asked. “What is curious is that you drove your vehicle, which had a history of problems, for a bargain of $130,000 [the cost of the painting materials], but the value of the cocaine alone indicates somebody had a vested interest in it.”

Cummings subsequently had his bail extended until October 4, to allow time for a social enquiry report and an antecedent report to be prepared ahead of his sentencing hearing.

According to court documents, Cummings was stopped by the police while driving the minibus along Long Hill in St James on March 7, 2022, at 2:45 p.m. The bus was searched and the cocaine was found in the left-hand and right-hand panels of the vehicle.

The cocaine was reportedly found wrapped in 16 packages, which were previously brought before the court as evidence for the prosecution’s case.

Under caution, Cummings claimed that he had borrowed the bus in order to pay a visit his granddaughter. He was taken into custody and interviewed, following which he was arrested and charged with breaching the Dangerous Drugs Act.