Miner on cocaine possession charge

A miner accused of having a gramme of cocaine in his possession was yesterday remanded to prison by Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry.

The allegation against Shawn Fraser is that he had the drug in his possession on March 31, at Georgetown, for the purpose of trafficking.

Fraser enquired about the penalty for entering a guilty plea and, after being told that the offence carried a prison term of three to five years, he denied the charge.

Prosecutor Stephen Telford told the court that the accused was found with a transparent Ziploc plastic bag containing a whitish substance suspected to be cocaine. Telford added that the accused, along with the suspected cocaine, was taken to the police station. The substance was weighed in his presence and Fraser was then told of the offence committed and charged.

After listening to the case, the unrepresented Fraser was informed that he would be remanded.

The case was transferred to Court Five for April 7.