A Bartica woman who was allegedly found with over 500 grammes of cannabis during a search at the Bartica ferry stelling, was remanded to prison yesterday.
The charge against Trisha Haynes, 40, stated that on May 18, at the Bartica Police Station, she had 576 grammes of cannabis in her possession for the purpose of trafficking.
Haynes, who was represented by Attorney Trenton Lake, denied the charge, which was read by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.
Lake, in his application for bail, told the court that his client was a cook and has no previous and pending matters in court. He further stated that Haynes was among several passengers who were requested to disembark from the speedboat at the Bartica ferry stelling, after which they were taken to the Bartica Police Station. They were subsequently searched and a bag was found containing the suspected narcotics. The passengers then told ranks that the bag belonged to Haynes, who denied the accusation.
However, according to prosecutor Gordon Mansfield, on the day in question, around 17:30 hours, acting on information, ranks from the Bartica Police Station went to the Bartica ferry stelling and conducted a search on disembarking passengers. Upon noticing Haynes, the ranks approached her and identified themselves as police before conducting a search on her person. Upon searching her luggage, two parcels containing seeds, leaves and stems were found in one of Haynes’ bags.
Mansfield objected to bail, citing the facts of the prosecution and the fact that Haynes failed to give the court a fixed place of abode.
Lake then noted that the facts according to the prosecutor differed from the charge in relation to the location where the suspected narcotic was found and based on the uncertainty of the location, once again asked for his client to be granted bail.
However, his application for bail was denied and Haynes was remanded to prison and the matter was adjourned until June 19 at the Bartica Magistrate’s Court, where Haynes will make her next appearance in relation to the matter.
