A 32-year-old Berbice River man was on Wednesday sentenced to 18 months in prison and fined $804,000 for possession and trafficking of narcotics.
The accused, Clarence France, a cabbage vendor of Maria Henrietta Village, Upper Berbice River appeared on Wednesday morning before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan at the Linden Magistrate’s Court via Zoom and pleaded guilty to the charges. It is alleged that on Monday September 20, at Jonestown, Kwakwani, France had in his possession 536 grammes of cannabis, with the market value being $804,000, for the purpose of trafficking.
The Police Prosecutor told the court that at about 23:30 hours, ranks from the Kwakwani Police Station were on patrol duty. She said that the ranks then went to the man’s home and conducted a search in his presence. A black bulky bag was found during the search and upon checking the bag, the narcotics mentioned was found. He was then cautioned and told of the offence, to which he admitted. The prosecutor said France told the police, “… this is just a small thing”.
Given a chance to address the court, France said that his wife is pregnant and that she required $40,000 to treat a complication. France informed the court that he didn’t have the money and decided to sell an item which has a value of $100,000. According to France the potential buyer instead told him he had a pound of cannabis which he could sell and he accepted the deal to save his wife. After pleading guilty France was sentenced to 18 months behind bars and must pay a fine of $804,000 which equals the market value of the narcotic.
