Two men, who allegedly had a quantity of cannabis in their possession for the purpose of trafficking, were remanded to prison when they appeared at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court.

Dennis Pilgrim had pleaded not guilty to the charge of possession of narcotics for the purpose of trafficking when Magistrate Hazel Octive-Hamilton read it to him on Tuesday.

Alfred Rodrigues, 43, of Lot 55 Soesdyke, East Bank Demerara had also pleaded not guilty to a similar charge when Acting Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson read it to him yesterday.

It is alleged that on April 10 at North Ruimveldt, Pilgrim had 30 grammes of cannabis in his possession for the purpose of trafficking.

Rodrigues is accused of having had 26 grammes of cannabis in his possession for the purpose of trafficking on April 11 in the Rupununi District.

Pilgrim was unrepresented in court, but Rodrigues’ lawyer Adrian Thompson applied for bail for him on the grounds that it would have been unfair for his client to be remanded to prison since the Lethem Magistrate’s Court only sits every three months. He stated that as such his client may not get a speedy trial and that was special circumstances under which bail should be granted. He added that the special circumstances relate to the offence and not the offender in the matter.

However, Police Prosecutor Denise Griffith requested that bail for Rodrigues be refused on the grounds that Thompson had not presented a special reason that was valid enough for his client to be granted bail.

She said the Lethem Magistrate’s Court will sit on June 2 and the magistrate subsequently transferred the case to that court for the said date.