At the New Amsterdam Court on Friday, Magistrate Geeta Chandan Persid-Edmond sentenced a man and a woman to four years imprisonment each after they were found guilty for possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking.

The court heard that on April 17, 2007 at Howard’s Alley, New Amsterdam, Jaffet Burrowes, 25, and Valencia Sanders, 45, had in their possession two grammes of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking.

Reports are that acting on information, police searched the house and found the “whitish” substance stashed in two small parcels under the carpet. The drugs were said to have been wrapped in transparent plastic and placed in toilet tissue.

Before handing down the sentence, Magistrate Persid-Edmond asked the defendants if they wished to say anything and their lawyer, Mursaline Bacchus said that his clients have been incarcerated for over one year.

The magistrate mentioned that the use of prohibited substances is prevalent in society and that there was enough evidence to prove the defendants guilty. She said that the minimum sentence for such an offence is three years along with a fine.

The magistrate said she took into consideration that the two defendants had been on remand since April last year and sentenced them to four years jail each and ordered them to pay a fine of $10,000.