August Pine Ridge resident, Matilde Ku, 60, a cane cutter, has been sentenced to 15 years imprisonment and fined $11,500 after being found guilty of drug trafficking and keeping an unlicensed firearm and ammunition. He was handed down the sentences today at the Orange Walk Magistrate’s Court when he appeared before Magistrate Hurl Hamilton.

He was charged by Orange Walk police with two counts of drug trafficking, one count for “kept unlicensed firearm;” two counts of “kept unlicensed ammunition” and one count of cultivation of a controlled drug.

In court, Ku was fined $10,000 for the two counts of drug trafficking and $1,500 for the drug cultivation and was sentenced to 5 years in jail for each count of “kept unlicensed ammunition” and 5 years in jail for keeping an unlicensed firearm.

Police said that on Friday, they were on an anti-drug operation in August Pine Ridge and went to Ku’s home, where they conducted routine searches for drugs, firearms and ammunition, and during the search they discovered a 16-gauge shotgun, six 16-gauge cartridges, one 20-gauge cartridge, and 386 grams of cannabis.

Police also carried out further searches in the yard, where they found two sacks containing cannabis. The cannabis was weighed and it totaled 13 pounds. The search continued and police saw a clearing in the yard, where they found 10 marijuana plants.

Matilde Ku was arrested and taken to the Orange Walk Police Station, where he was charged for the offences.