An alleged drug trafficker, who was caught with marijuana, was yesterday remanded to prison after he disputed the quantity of the drug found in his possession.
Security guard Mark Puran, 24, whose address was given as 99 New Market Street, Georgetown, pleaded not guilty to a charge of possession of narcotics for the purpose of trafficking. The charge stated that on October 18, Puran had 31 grammes of cannabis in his possession for the purpose of trafficking.
The charge was read to him by Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry in Georgetown. The court heard that on the day in question, at 9:40pm, Puran was standing on Croal Street when police officers on duty observed him acting in a suspicious manner. As a result, a search was conducted on his person and a quantity of leaves, seeds and stems suspected to be cannabis were unearthed in twenty five small Ziploc plastic bags. The unrepresented Puran refuted that he had 31 grammes. He explained that when the substance was weighed, it amounted to 8 ½ grammes as opposed to 31 grammes. The difference in the quantities represents the difference between a mere possession of narcotics charge and a possession for the purpose of trafficking charge, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of three years. But Prosecutor Michael Grant, who presented the police’s case, contested Puran’s claim, maintaining that the cannabis amounted to 31 grammes.
Grant objected to the accused being granted bail. He pointed out that that no special reasons were advanced for bail. As a result, bail was refused and Puran was ordered to return to court on October 31.
