Children placed in lock-ups with Leguan mother arrested for ganja – lawyer tells court

A Leguan woman was yesterday charged for the alleged cultivation of cannabis and possession of the drug, for which her lawyer said both she and her two children, ages two and two months, had been held in lock-ups.

It is alleged that on February 21, at Leguan Island, Essequibo, Ashmini Persaud, 20, was found to be cultivating cannabis sativa and that she had two grammes of the drug in her possession.

Persaud pleaded not guilty to both of the charges, which were read to her by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan in Georgetown.

According to Persaud’s lawyer Clive Ford, when Persaud was arrested, she and her two children were placed in the lock ups. He said both mother and children were unwell and sought the woman’s release on reasonable bail.

Persaud was subsequently granted $35,000 bail by the magistrate and the matter was adjourned until March 24, when it will be heard at the Leguan Magistrate’s Court.