Couple freed of ecstasy trafficking charge

Shelly Ann Gilgeous
Shelly Ann Gilgeous

A man and his common-law wife, who were both charged last year after allegedly being found with a quantity of ecstasy, were yesterday freed of the charge after the prosecution failed to prove its case.

Lonsdale Hope and his common-law wife, Shelly Ann Gilgeous, were jointly charged with having 66 grammes (equivalent to 0.14 pounds) of ecstasy for the purpose of trafficking in their possession on April 23rd, 2018, at Regent Road, Bourda.

Lonsdale Hope

It was the police’s case that on the date in question, ranks from the Guyana Police Force’s Narcotics Branch intercepted a vehicle, with licence plate PSS 2037, in which the defendants were the lone occupants. A search was conducted on the vehicle and a bag with the ecstasy was found in a handbag, which Gilgeous, a former nurse, identified as hers, in the back passenger seat. According to the police, Gilgeous gave an oral statement claiming that it was Hope who gave her the substance.

They were represented by attorney Dexter Todd while on trial before Magistrate Annette Singh.

According to Todd, the charges against his clients were dismissed after the prosecution failed to prove its case against them.