A 42-year-old man was on Wednesday handed down a sentence of 3 years imprisonment when he appeared before Principal Magistrate Judy Latchman at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts slapped with possession of narcotics charge.
The charge which was read to Seon Fitzgerald, a vendor and a father of one stated that on October 13, 2018, at Sophia, Georgetown he had in his possession 76 grams of cannabis for the purpose of trafficking.
The man admitted to the charge after it was read to him.
According to the prosecutor’s case, on the day in question at around 07:00h ranks from the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) were on patrol in the above mentioned area when they observed the defendant acting in a suspicious manner.
The man was approached by the ranks, who identified themselves and conducted a search on his person.
A black plastic bag containing the cannabis was found in his possession. The defendant was taken into custody and later charged for the offence.
The unrepresented man in an effort to defend himself told the court that he found the bag with the cannabis. “I was coming round the corner and I pick up it up, I told the police I just find the bag, I have a baby, and I’m the only breadwinner for my family” the man stated.
However, Magistrate Latchman made no hesitation and handed down a fine of $30,000 along with three years imprisonment.
