A miner accused of trafficking in 403 grammes of cannabis was yesterday remanded to prison when he appeared before Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.
The allegation against Jacoma Webb, 36, is that on July 5 at the Mackenzie Police Station compound, he had in his possession 403 grammes of cannabis for the purpose of trafficking.
The 1525 Central Amelia’s Linden resident denied the charge when it was read to him.
Prosecutor Vernette Pindar who presented the facts said that on the day in question police conducted a search on motor vehicle PPP 4082 which was driven by an Ashton Fraser.
According to Pindar, the accused was at the time a passenger in the said vehicle.
She said that a freezer, which Webb identified to the police as belonging to him, was strapped to the top of the car in which a yellow bag containing the illegal substance was found concealed.
The accused was subsequently arrested and charged.
Meanwhile, Attorney Latchmie Rahamat in a passionate but unsuccessful plea for bail argued that her client is innocent and will vigorously contest the charge levelled against him.
According to Rahamat, the alleged illegal substance was never found on her client’s person nor in his presence. She said the freezer in question does indeed belong to her client, but he had given it to Fraser to be transported to the interior.
She said her client had given Fraser the freezer to be transported on Thursday July 4, but that Fraser did not take it then and was so doing on Friday (the day in question).
Rahamat said after her client handed over the freezer to Fraser he could not account for what was placed in it as he was not there.
These she advanced as special reasons for her client’s pretrial liberty to be granted.
The lawyer said that according to her instructions, her client said that Fraser was informed that the car would be impounded and so he (Webb) decided to go to a nearby shop to get something to drink, after which the police called him in and said that the alleged illegal items were found in his freezer.
“No search was conducted in his presence,” Rahamat maintained.
She informed the court that Webb has a similar matter pending before the Mahdia Magistrates’ Court for which he was been admitted to bail but quickly added that he has been attending court whenever required to do so.
The prosecution objected to accused being granted his pretrial liberty citing that there were no special circumstances.
Meanwhile, after perusing the file for some time, the magistrate informed counsel that her client had been implicated in the matter as the statement she read indicated that her client stashed the illegal item in the freezer and wanted to get rid of it before the arrival of the police.
The father of two was informed that he would be remanded to prison. His matter was transferred to the Christianburg Magistrates’ Court for July 16.
