Couples remanded on drug possession charges

Five people yesterday found themselves answering drug possession charges after police reported that quantities of cocaine and marijuana were found at their homes on Saturday.

Two couples, separately charged over the alleged possession of 4.3 grammes of cocaine and 22 grammes of cannabis, both denied having either knowledge or possession of the substances. But their respective bail applications were rejected by Magistrate Judy Latchman.

In both cases, attorney Paul Fung-a-Fat expressed his disappointment with the decision in the light of the fact that the defendants reside in multiple occupancies and the female defendants were both pregnant. These circumstances, he argued, constituted special reasons for bail.

Leather craftsman John Dowridge, 40, of 34 Albouys Street, Albouystown and his common-law wife and mother of three, Ocilia Leung, 24, were charged with the possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking.

In their defence, Fung-a-Fat said the substance was discovered wrapped in a pair of pants outside the tenement building which Dowridge and Leung