Pilot gets walking papers

LIAT pilot Keith Allen was deported from Barbados after he was fined over EC $330,000 for drug possession. 

(Photo courtesy the Nation newspaper)

By Observer News

St. John’s Antigua- Regional carrier LIAT clipped the wings of pilot Keith Richard Otway Allen, who was fined over EC $330,000 dollars for smuggling drugs into Barbados.

“The management wishes to confirm the termination of the company’s employment relationship with First Officer Allen with effect from December 2, 2011,” was LIAT’s only comment in a two-line news release.

December 2 was when Allen pleaded guilty to the trying to smuggle 65 pounds of cannabis in his suitcase through customs at Grantley Adams International Airport.

The greatest portion of the fine was $135,000 for trafficking. In all he faced four charges and by paying the fine, the national of St. Vincent and the Grenadines averted the four-year prison sentence which applied to each count.

The sentence,  handed down by Magistrate Laurie-Ann Smith-Bovell in the District “F” Magistrates’ Court, brought an end to a matter that featured two Methodist preachers appearing as character witnesses for the pilot, and several adjournments after Allen’s guilty plea.

Allen was released into the custody of Barbados immigration officials for deportation.

Source:  http://www.antiguaobserver.com