The trial of Tiffany Sultan came to a halt on Wednesday morning at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts when the Chief Magistrate found her guilty of narcotics possession for the purpose of trafficking, and sentenced her to two years and 11 months imprisonment.
The 23-year-old of Charlestown, Georgetown, was earlier this year charged with illegal possession of 106 grams of cannabis for trafficking purposes.
Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan, in summing up, declared that the court having
Tiffany Sultan
considered all the evidence, was satisfied that the accused was indeed found in possession of the said substance as she was the sole occupant of the premises in which the marijuana was discovered and that she had intended to traffic same, as this was evidenced by wads of cash found stashed under her bed.
The Magistrate added that the caution statements made by the defendant were found to be made freely and voluntarily; during which she had reportedly confessed to ownership of the drugs, admitting that she sells it. She held that the prosecution had proved each element of the offence and had presented credible witnesses, whose evidence was well corroborated.
Attorney Stanley Moore said he does not understand why the prosecution did not go after the alleged big operator behind the crime, instead targeting a “small fry, while the big sharks swim free”.
The accused in her previous testimony had contended that she was assaulted by a Police Officer while she was being detained at the station for questioning; however, the Magistrate in her ruling stated that she found this to be a mere allegation in the absence of evidence.
The court heard that on the day in question, Sultan was in her kitchen when Police Officers entered the premises, questioned her and began searching the house for “anything illegal”. After responding in the negative to the probing questions of the ranks, Sultan finally surrendered, leading them to a clothing basket from which she unearthed a black plastic bag saying, “This is all I have”.
A quantity of cash to the sum of $200,000 was also found in the house which the accused claimed belonged to her father.The woman’s relatives sat silently in disbelief as the Magistrate handed down the sentence. Sultan was then escorted out of the courtroom into the Police outpost.
