Three months for throwing cigarettes into prison

Michael Whyte of Lot 77 Triumph Village East Coast Demerara was yesterday sentenced to three months imprisonment for unlawfully smuggling 60 packs of Bristol cigarettes into the Camp Street prison when he appeared before Magistrate Priya Beharry at the Georgetown Magistrates Court.

It is reported that on Friday March 2, Whyte was seen walking along in the vicinity of the prison, when prison officers noticed him throwing something over the fence. Upon investigation the 60 packs of cigarettes were found and Whyte was arrested and taken into custody.

The accused pleaded guilty to the crime and claimed that he was given the packs of cigarettes to take into the prison by someone, but denied taking them in, claiming he took them back where he got them from.

Further questioned by Magistrate Beharry, the accused continued to claim his innocence begging the magistrate to finish the matter early.

The magistrate then explained to him that the matter will be fixed for trial at a later date. At this point the accused began to shout “is I do it! is I do it!”, confessing his guilt to the crime.

The magistrate then handed down her sentence.