Court frees alleged cocaine trafficker after police fail to produce evidence

Thirty-seven-year-old Delon Moore, accused of trafficking 63.1 grams of cocaine, has been acquitted after Police failed to produce body camera footage that reportedly captured both the discovery of the drugs and an alleged admission by the accused.

The accused was found not guilty by Magistrate Tuanna Hardy when he appeared at the Springlands Magistrate’s Court on Thursday, after the court found that reasonable doubt existed in the prosecution’s case.

Moore was charged following an encounter with Police at Scottsburg Public Road, Corriverton, Berbice, on December 1, 2025. Police alleged that Moore was driving motor car PAC 1705 when he was intercepted by a party of ranks. He was the sole occupant of the vehicle.

According to the Police account, Moore was informed that he and the vehicle would be searched for arms, ammunition and narcotics. Police alleged that before the search began, Moore told Detective Inspector Mark Fraser that he had “a little piece of cocaine” in his pocket.

Two transparent plastic bags containing cocaine were subsequently allegedly found in Moore’s left pants pocket.

However, the circumstances surrounding the alleged admission and discovery came under scrutiny during the trial when Moore’s attorney, Vinay Punwa, questioned one of the Police ranks about body camera footage from the encounter.

Under cross-examination, Constable Joseph reportedly admitted that his body camera was activated when the cocaine was allegedly found and when Moore was said to have made the admission.

Punwa made several applications for the footage to be produced, but it was never provided to the court. The defence argued that the footage was significant since it could have provided a contemporaneous record of two key aspects of the prosecution’s case, Moore’s alleged admission and the circumstances in which Police claimed the cocaine was found on him.

Punwa also questioned the Police witnesses about whether any contemporaneous notes or diary entries had been made of Moore’s alleged admission.

According to the defence attorney, the witnesses acknowledged that none had been made. Punwa submitted that the absence of such records was contrary to Police standard operating procedures and raised further doubt about the alleged admission.

Moore had also disputed the Police version of events. During the investigation, he reportedly denied that the cocaine belonged to him and alleged that a Police rank had placed a hand into his pocket and pulled it out.

The body camera footage, despite being sought by the defence during the proceedings, was never produced.

At the conclusion of the trial, the court found that the prosecution had failed to eliminate reasonable doubt in the case against Moore. He was consequently found not guilty and acquitted of the trafficking charge.