A West Canje, Berbice man was yesterday granted his release on $100,000 bail after he was charged with cultivating marijuana on a field which was previously used to grow cane for the Rose Hall Estate.
Reginald Motie, 24, of Lot 41 Mount Sinai, West Canje, Berbice, appeared before Magistrate Peter Hugh at the New Amsterdam Magistrate’s Court yesterday.
The charge against him stated that on Saturday, May 30, he allegedly cultivated cannabis sativa plants.
Motie, a father of one, pleaded not guilty to the charge and was placed on $100,000 bail.
He will return to court on June 30.
Police had said that based on information received, they went to Vryheid Village, West Canje, Berbice and found about an acre of cannabis cultivated with several hundred plants measuring two to five feet in height, and more than six thousand five hundred cannabis seedlings.
According to the police, the estimated street value of the prohibited plants discovered was $5,824,000.
Motie was arrested in the field while allegedly tending to the plants.
Commander of ‘B’ Division Calvin Brutus has since told Stabroek News that ranks have been able to locate several other fields in the same area.
However, he added, that in Motie’s case it was first time they had discovered anyone on a field at that location.
Apart from receiving information, Brutus said, “We are using drone technology so it is easier for us to locate the farm from the air. You just send the drone over the area and you do the surveillance and you locate the farms”.
