Newspapers in Bermuda are reporting on what is routine practice in Bermuda when a cruise ship arrives from the U.S.  Customs officer take a sniffer dog aboard and find a few joints of pot in a passenger’s cabin.

Today a 30 year old passenger sailing aboard the Norwegian Dawn cruise ship pleaded guilty to two charges involving the possession of 7.16 grams of pot and 0.88 grams of ecstasy.

Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner presided over the case, as usual. The prosecutors told the magistrate that around 1:25 PM on Sunday May 13th, a Bermuda Customs canine in a sniffer dog team had alerted to illegal drugs in cabin 8597 on board the Norwegian Dawn. The cabin, unoccupied at the time, was entered and searched. 

Later that day, on his return to the ship, the Bermuda officials arrested the passenger and took him to the police station. Today, he told the magistrate that the drugs were  “For my personal use to party while I was on the cruise.”  The Magistrate fined him $800 on the charge of possessing the pot and another $800 for possessing the powder. 

We have written over a dozen articles like this. Just the other week, I wrote this one – Surprise. Surprise. Surprise. More Bermuda Cruise Ship Reefer Madness.

Magistrate Warner has fined every cruise passenger who has stood before him with a little reefer found on the cruise ship. No need for probable cause or a search warrant.  American potheads are easy money.

Very strange revenue collection business going on in Bermuda and a real double standard as well. 

Yesterday I posted the Inside Edition video showing cruise passengers chugging beer, downing shots, showing their booty and passing out at the ship bar.  No cruise or port officials could care less. But expect the officials in Bermuda to shake you down for a few thousand dollars if you stash some reefer in your cabin to get high on the high seas.

May 16, 2012 Update: The South Florida Business Journal mentions our blog in an article Alcohol vs. Drugs on Cruise Ships. 

 

Photo Credit:  Royal Gazette