Kingston, East La Penitence men accused of ganja trafficking after home busts

A city labourer, who is accused of having marijuana for trafficking, was remanded to prison yesterday by a city court.

Leonard Mayers 47, of Lot 35, Fort Street, Kingston, Georgetown, pleaded not guilty to charge when he appeared before Magistrate Judy Latchman.

The charge stated that on Sunday, October 1, at Mayers’ home, he had 83.6 grammes of cannabis in his possession for trafficking.

The prosecution told the court that police, acting on information, went to the home and saw Mayers throwing a bulky bag through a window. Upon searching, the police found the bag, which contained the marijuana. The police also said that while in police custody, Mayers admitted to ownership of the cannabis in a statement.

George Hope
Leonard Mayers

Despite a bail application by attorney Mark Waldron, who represented the accused, he was remanded to prison after the prosecutor told the court that no special reason was given.

Mayers’ next hearing is October 23.

Meanwhile, a Freeman Street, East La Penitence resident was yesterday also remanded to prison on a marijuana trafficking charge.

George Hope, 22, of Lot 107 Freeman Street, denied the charge when he stood before Magistrate Latchman.

It was alleged that on September 24, at Freeman Street, Hope had 736 grammes of cannabis in his possession for the purpose of trafficking. Hope pleaded not guilty.

Hope’s attorney told the court that at the time of the discovery of the cannabis, his client was being questioned in relation to the murder of Fazal Shaheed, which had occurred earlier in the day on the same street. The attorney explained that during the course of a search, the drug was not found on the client. Instead, he claimed that it was found in a garbage bin a few houses away from his client’s home.

As a result, Hope’s attorney made a bail application and asked for reasonable bail.

However, the prosecutor objected to bail and told a different account of the discovery. He explained that the police, acting on information, went to the house and conducted a search. The prosecution said the cannabis was found in a barrel the accused was standing next to and he admitted ownership of the drug in a caution statement following the discovery.

Magistrate Latchman subsequently refused bail. Hope is also scheduled to return to court on October 23.