A teenager, allegedly caught with a quantity of cannabis in the crotch of his pants, was remanded to prison yesterday by a city magistrate on a charge of possession of narcotics for the purpose of trafficking.
The charge read by Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry stated that Andre Christian, 18, on April 3, at Stabroek Market, allegedly had 33 grammes of cannabis in his possession.
It is the prosecution’s case that Christian, on the day in question, was observed acting in a suspicious manner by police ranks. According to Prosecutor Michael Grant, the ranks approached Christian, identified themselves and conducted a consented search on him, during which they discovered leaves, seeds and stems that they suspected to be cannabis in a transparent plastic bag hidden in the crotch of his pants.
Grant added that the defendant was arrested and taken to the Brickdam Police Station, where the cannabis was weighed in his presence and he was slapped with the drug trafficking charge.
Attorney Paul Fung-A-Fat, who represented Christian, informed the court that he had no special reasons to offer in his defense. As a result, the Chief Magistrate subsequently remanded the teen and transferred the case to Courts 8 and 9, where the matter will be called again on May 8 for the commencement of trial.
