Farmer gets three years for trafficking ganja

Aug 25, 2017 Court Stories, Features / Columnists, News

A farmer who claimed that he had a quantity of marijuana in his possession to treat an illness that his daughter and mother have, will be spending the next three years in prison, after pleading guilty to a related charge.

Jailed for three years: Fernandez Laita

Thirty-five-year-old father of two, Fernandez Laita, of Aishalton Village, South Rupununi River, appeared before Principal Magistrate Judy Latchman in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts, and pleaded guilty to the charge which stated that on August 17 at Aishalton Village, he had in his possession 96 grams of cannabis sativa for the purpose of trafficking.
Facts presented by Police Prosecutor Shawn Gonsalves stated that on the day in question, around 04:30 hrs, police, acting on information, went to the home of the accused where they made contact with him.
The court heard that the defendant was standing outside when a search was conducted on him and nothing was found in his possession.
Prosecutor Gonsalves went on to tell the court that the police officers conducted a search around the premises and three feet away from where the accused was standing, the marijuana was found in a multi-coloured bag at the base of a tree.
Upon opening the bag a quantity of leaves, seeds and stems of cannabis was unearthed inside the bag.
Laita was then arrested and taken to the station where he was told of the offence committed and under caution admitted to the police that the narcotics belonged to him “Is my own, I does do a fine hustle.”
Principal Magistrate Latchman then sentenced Laita to three years’ imprisonment and fined him $30,000.