A Corriverton man who told the court that he had bought one and a half grammes of cocaine for $900 was on Wednesday sentenced to three years in prison.

Kubir Ramnarine, 27, of Princetown, Corriverton, pleaded guilty to a charge of possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking when he appeared before Magistrate Krishndat Persaud at the Springlands Magistrate’s Court.

Police Prosecutor Sergeant Michael Grant told the court that on April 5, policemen on mobile patrol in the Upper Corentyne, observed Ramnarine acting suspiciously.

When they confronted him he attempted to flee but was caught. A search of his person unearthed three parcels of a whitish substance suspected to be cocaine in his right-side pants pocket.

He was arrested and taken to the Springlands Police Station where the substance was weighed and it amounted to one and a half grammes.

Ramnarine, a sugar estate employee, pleaded for leniency as he was a first offender. He told the court he had paid $900 for the ‘crack’ cocaine.