A cook was on Tuesday remanded to prison at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts where she made her first appearance for narcotics trafficking.
Tricia Hanes stood before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan, who read the charge which stated that on May 18, 2019, at the Bartica Police Station, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), she had in her possession 576 grams of cannabis for the purpose of trafficking. The 40-year-old woman denied the charge.
Tricia Hanes
The prosecution’s case contended that on May 18, ranks from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) at Bartica, acting on information, went to the Bartica Ferry Stelling where they conducted a search on passengers. When a search was carried out on the defendant’s handbag, two parcels were found containing stems and leaves of cannabis. The woman was arrested and taken to the Bartica Police Station.
Hanes was represented by Attorney-at-Law Trenton Lake, who told the court in his bail application that his client was a passenger in a minibus when the search was conducted. According to the lawyer, when the cannabis was discovered, his client was not present and his client maintained that the bag did not belong to her. In the bail application, the lawyer also noted that it was another passenger of the same bus who claimed that the bag belonged to Hanes. He further stated that the narcotic was discovered at the Bartica Ferry Stelling, not at the police station.
Prosecutor Gordon Mansfield objected to bail based on the fact that the defendant had not provided an address to the police. She was remanded to prison and the case will continue on June 19, 2019, at the Bartica Magistrate’s Court.
