Two men, including one who claimed he uses a cannabis tea to treat his stutter, were yesterday remanded to prison on separate drug trafficking charges.
Shemroy Hackett, 30, of 6 Bare Root, East Coast Demerara, appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan in Georgetown on the charge that on July 8th, he had 1,184 grammes of marijuana in his possession for trafficking at the Bartica Police Station.
Hackett pleaded not guilty to the charge.
Police prosecutor Gordon Mansfield told the magistrate that on the day in question, police ranks, acting on information received, stopped and searched a vehicle occupied by Hackett and three others.
The court heard that a white plastic bucket was found in Hackett’s possession and inside the bucket a black plastic bag containing the illicit substance was found.
According to the police’s case, Hackett confirmed the substance to be marijuana.
Hackett was remanded to prison and the matter was transferred to the Bartica Magistrate Court for August 2nd.
Also remanded to prison was Paul Roberts, 37, of 99 Second Street, Alexander Village, Georgetown, who pleaded not guilty to a possession for trafficking charge as well.
It is alleged that on July 6th, at Third Avenue, Bartica, Roberts was in possession of 468 grammes of marijuana for trafficking.
Mansfield objected to Roberts being granted bail based on the circumstances of the charge. The prosecutor told the court that on the day in question at about 7.30 pm, police in Bartica were patrolling and the accused was spotted acting in a suspicious manner. They approached him and found tobacco leaves on him. He allegedly told them he was heading to a house where he had his possessions. The police accompanied him to the house, where he retrieved a green haversack containing his identification card and two brown parcels which were taped together. They opened the parcels in his presence and found the marijuana, which he told them he purchased for the purpose of smoking and making tea.
Roberts informed the magistrate that he does indeed use the marijuana to make tea because he has a stuttering problem. The magistrate then remanded Roberts to prison and transferred the matter to the Bartica Magistrate’s Court for August 2nd.
