Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan has granted bail to a 25-year-old gold miner while questioning the grounds of a narcotics possession charge initiated against the accused, even as Prosecutor Arvin Moore contended that instructions were received from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to have a second accused charged for the felony after he was implicated in a drug bust for which a woman
was already charged prior to Monday’s court hearing.
It is alleged that Seon Nickle on May 31, 2017 at First Avenue, Bartica, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), was in possession of 1.261 kilograms (approximately two pounds) of cannabis for trafficking purposes.
As the defendant pleaded not guilty to the offence, Prosecutor Moore objected to bail on the basis that no special reasons were offered by the unrepresented defendant and requested that Nickle be placed on remand.
He further alleged that the accused reportedly gave a caution statement to Police in which he accepted responsibility for the illicit drug. Police facts further stated that the drug was found in a haversack on the person of a second party who implicated Nickle as the owner of the bag subsequently leading to his arrest.
Moore disclosed that guidance was sought from the DPP’s office, and it was advised that Nickle also be charged. The female defendant on which the haversack was found is presently out on $100,000 bail and is set to face the Bartica Magistrate’s Court on July 21, 2017. The Chief Magistrate declared that the court found special circumstances under which to grant bail, alluding to the fact that the said haversack was found in the possession of a second party. Bail was set in the sum of $200,000. The matter continues on August 11, 2017 at the Bartica Magistrate’s Courts.
