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A 64-year-old Ghanaian woman has been jailed for more than two years in the United States of America (USA) for smuggling heroin into the country.

Rose Amanor tried to smuggle the heroin hidden in dried salted fish (Koobi) into the US, but was caught last year by JFK International Airport customs agents in New York, according to Daily Mail.

A court in New York City sentenced Amanor to 27 months last Friday after prosecutors had pushed for a six-and-a-half years’ imprisonment.

According to Daily Mail, “The fishy smuggler was caught by officials at John F. Kennedy Airport with three kilos of heroin after an attentive customs agent singled her out for inspection upon her arrival last February on a flight from Amsterdam originating in Ghana.”

Rose Amanor
The woman, who tried to excuse herself, blamed her son for coercing her to bring the heroin to the US, according to the Daily Mail, which also culled the story from Daily News.

“I am asking you to have mercy on me so I can go home to my family and enjoy whatever time I have left with my family,” the woman said through an interpreter.

But the judge also referred to “incessant fish stories” told to authorities. “I find it totally incredible that Mrs Amanor didn’t know what it was that she was doing,” federal judge Eric Vitaliano said according to the Daily News.

“It certainly was disrespect for the law, sitting in this courtroom and spinning this incredible tale under oath.”

Amanor, who has been in custody for 13 months, had her request of a sentence of time served denied, and will be deported to Ghana upon her release from prison.