A mother of one who allegedly had in her possession a quantity of cannabis for the purpose of trafficking was yesterday remanded to prison when she appeared before Magistrate Hazel Octive-Hamilton at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court.

It is alleged that on July 9 at Georgetown, Shairool Khan of 41 Dowding Street, Kitty had in her possession 503 grammes of cannabis for the purpose of trafficking.

She pleaded not guilty to the charge when it was read to her.

The defendant was represented by attorneys-at-law Nigel Hughes and Adrian Thompson. In a bid for bail for his client, Hughes told the court that his client is the mother of a sick 8-year-old child and would need to be at home to care for the child since she has no one else to perform the caretaker role.

Hughes argued also that since the house in which the cannabis was found was a multi-purpose dwelling house, one could not tell that it was indeed his client who had the illegal substance.

Special Prosecutor of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) Oswald Massiah, however, objected to the bail application made by the lawyers stating that the child had been handed over to the father and aunt.

Massiah said that on the day in question, based on information received, CANU officials had gone to Khan’s 41 Dowding Street, Kitty home and told her that they were there to conduct a search.

At this point, Massiah said, the defendant closed her door on the officers and armed herself with a flammable substance. The CANU prosecutor said that the officers were left with no other choice but to force their way into the house and after conducting a search they unearthed the cannabis in the defendant’s washroom.

Despite their arguments, the lawyers were unable to secure bail for their client and she was remanded to prison until August 12.