Fisherman pleads guilty to drug charge

A Breda Street fisherman yesterday pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking and was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment along with a $129,000 fine.

Dwayne Marshall, 37, of 80 Breda Street did not contest the charge when it was read to him by Magistrate Ann McLennan.

Prosecutor Deniro Jones said the police’s case was that on November 11, at 03.30 am, a police patrol was on duty in the vicinity of Princes and Lombard streets, when Marshall was observed acting in a suspicious manner.

The police then carried out a search on him with his consent and found a white paper parcel in his left shirt pocket, containing 54 creamish rock-like substances, suspected to be cocaine.

Dwayne Marshall
Dwayne Marshall

The police then told Marshall about the offence and he subsequently told them that he had bought the cocaine from a man in Essequibo.

He was then arrested and the substance, when weighed in his presence, amounted to 6.2 grammes of cocaine.

The fisherman did not challenge the police’s account of what happened, but asked Magistrate McLennan for leniency.

Marshall was then sentenced to a three-year jail term together with a $129,000 fine.