A hairdresser was yesterday charged with having possession of almost three pounds of cannabis found aboard a boat at the Bartica Stelling on Wednesday.
It is alleged that Odessa Bishop, 23, of Lot 148 Middle Road La Penitence, had 1,236 grammes (equivalent to 2.7 pounds) of cannabis for trafficking on June 13th, at the Bartica Stelling.
Bishop denied the charge after it was read to her by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan in Georgetown.
Police prosecutor Gordon Mansfield told the court that on the day in question, the police, acting on information, went to the Bartica Stelling and conducted a search on a passenger boat.
Bishop was allegedly observed acting in a suspicious manner.
Mansfield added that nothing was found on her, a black bag with the suspected drugs was recovered on the floor near her seat. He said Bishop, after denying that the bag belonged to her, was confronted by three passengers who identified her as the person who entered the vessel with the bag.
Despite Mansfield’s submissions, defence attorney Tiffany Jeffrey-Durant maintained that her client had no knowledge of the drugs. She added that there were several other persons aboard the boat and that the bag with the drugs had no identification that linked it to the accused.
Having heard from both the prosecutor and the attorney, the Chief Magistrate granted Bishop her release on $200,000 bail and ordered that she lodge her passport and report to the East La Penitence Police Station every Friday until the completion of the trial.
The matter was later transferred to the Bartica Police Station and adjourned until July 6th.
