A Douglas man broke down in tears in the dock after being told he was being given another chance after bringing a kilo of cannabis to the island.

Sean Maunders, 32, got involved with a drug dealer in the UK which led to two packages being sent to the island containing herbal cannabis.

Maunders, of Rosemount, appeared at the Court of General Gaol Delivery on Wednesday for sentencing after admitting two counts of cannabis production.

Hazel Carroon, prosecuting, told the court police with a drug detection dog were at the Post Office headquarters in Braddan on June 3, 2025, when a suspicious package was identified with a bogus name on the address.

It was opened and the contents inside were later tested and found to contain 500.1g of cannabis worth just over £10,000.

No suspect was identified but the following week, on June 11, a further package arrived and a postman delivered it to a block of flats in Douglas.

Maunders approached the postman to accept the parcel. But the postman knew Saunders from school and noticed the name on the package was not addressed to him.

The package was returned to the Post Office headquarters and opened. Tests later found the package contained 486.5g of cannabis worth £9,730.

Police spoke to Maunders about a separate matter on June 25 last year and his phone was seized. When examined, there was an exchange of messages between Maunders and someone from the UK with pictures of the parcel.

In mitigation, advocate Helen Lobb said Maunders was paying off a drug debt.

Miss Lobb argued for any prison sentence to be suspended adding: ‘My client has shown remorse. He has now received a prescription for medical cannabis and is looking to pursue further education.’

Deemster Graeme Cook agreed to give Maunders a chance and handed him an 18-month prison sentence suspended for two years with supervision.

On learning his fate, Maunders collapsed in tears and thanked the deemster.