A newspaper in St. Kitts reports today that on Wednesday two U.S. passengers who arrived in St. Kitts aboard a cruise ship were arrested by local police for possessing pot.
The U.S. couple from Los Angeles were sailing on the Celebrity Eclipse when ship security was alerted to the possibility of passengers having marijuana in their cabin. Ship security searched the couple’s cabin and found pot. St. Kitts police then arrested the passengers and took them to jail ashore.
One of the passengers reportedly admitted to purchasing marijuana on a beach when the cruise ship docked in St. Maarten the day before. A local judge fined the passenger EC $5,000, which he reportedly paid immediately after the hearing.
The couple were not permitted to return to the cruise ship. They spent the night in St. Kitts, and left the island the following day. A fine of EC (East Caribbean currency) turns out to be around
US $1,850.
Lots of the island countries which cruise ships frequent levy substantial fines for cruise passengers possessing small amounts of pot for recreational use.
I wish that the cruise ship security and local port police would show such vigor in arresting passengers and crew engaged in violent crimes on cruise ships.