A 34-year-old man, who Police said admitted to finding a bag of marijuana while walking through a cemetery, was on Monday charged with the trafficking of narcotics.
Timothy Badal
Timothy Badal, a mason of Lot 193 Middle Road, La Penitence, Georgetown, denied the charge when it was read to him by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.
It is alleged that on June 15, 2019, at East La Penitence, he had in his possession 53 grams of cannabis for the purpose of trafficking.
Police Prosecutor Gordon Mansfield, who presented the facts, stated that on the day in question, ranks from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), acting on information, went to the home of the defendant and requested to carry out a search.
According to the prosecution’s case, the ranks then went into the home where they met with a woman who identified herself as Badal’s mother and a search was then conducted in Badal’s bedroom. The prosecution’s case noted that one of the ranks found the marijuana in two black plastic bags in a clothes basket.
Badal, when told of the offence, reportedly told the ranks that he picked up the bags from a cemetery while he was walking home one night. Hence, he was arrested and charged with the offence.
However, the man’s lawyer, Paul Fung-A-Fat, in a successful bail application, raised the question of multiple occupants at the residence where the drug was found. The lawyer told the court that multiple persons live at Badal’s residence and the marijuana could have belonged to anyone.
Meanwhile, Prosecutor Mansfield objected to bail being granted to the defendant on the grounds of the prevalence of the offence and the penalty the charge attracts.
The Chief Magistrate released Badal on $120,000 bail. The case will continue on June 9, 2019. He was instructed to report to the East La Penitence Police Station every Friday until the hearing and determination of the matter.
