(Trinidad Express) A Guyanese attorney and businessman was on Monday reprimanded and discharged after he pleaded guilty to a charge of being in possession of a live round of ammunition.
Subash Ganesh was arrested by Airports Authority Estate Police at Piarco International Airport on Saturday, as he was about to board a flight back to Guyana.
A live 9mm round of ammunition was found in his briefcase after Ganesh walked through a scanner monitored by airport police, court prosecutor Sgt Treville Petti said. Ganesh was subsequently arrested and charged with the offence.
On Monday, when he appeared before Arima Senior Magistrate Lucina Cardenas-Ragoonanan, Ganesh pleaded guilty to the offence.
Through his attorney Ganesh explained he was a holder of a licensed firearm in Guyana and had no knowledge that one round of ammunition was in his briefcase. He explained that before he came to Trinidad, shortly after the Carnival season, he lodged his pistol and two magazines with ammunition in his home country but was unaware that one round had fallen from one of the magazines and remained in his briefcase.
Magistrate Cardenas-Ragoonanan commended the airport police for detecting the ammunition which was not detected when Ganesh entered the country.
After the court was told that traces through Interpol revealed Ganesh had no criminal history, Cardenas-Ragoonanan decided to reprimand and discharge the accused.
She also advised him to be extremely cautious next time.
