ECD couple cleared of drug trafficking charge

More than two years after he was charged with possessing drugs for the purpose of trafficking, 34-year-old Shelroy Clarke has had the entire case against him tossed out.
The charge against Clarke, of Goedverwagting, East Coast Demerara (ECD), was dismissed last week after Magistrate Alisha George, who presides at the Sparendaam Magistrates’ Courts, upheld a no-case submission made on his behalf by Attorney-at-Law Bernard DaSilva.
The charge had alleged that he had 867.8 grams of Cannabis sativa (marijuana) in his possession for the purpose of trafficking on May 2, 2021, at his home.
Da Silva, in the submission, had argued that despite the prosecution’s “best efforts” using the limited information provided by the investigators, it failed to discharge its burden of proof.
Consequent to the insufficiency of prima facie evidence, the defence counsel contended that his client should not be called upon to lead a defence and that the charge should be dismissed.
Clarke had been jointly charged along with his reputed wife, 33-year-old Patricia Grant.
The charge against Grant, was, however, dismissed in April of this year by the said Magistrate who had upheld a no-case submission made on Grant’s behalf by Da Silva.
The couple had been out on $700,000 bail pending their trial.
It was the prosecution’s case that on the day in question, Police ranks acting on information, went to the couple’s residence where a search was conducted. The search purportedly unearthed an unconcealed black plastic bag on top of a cupboard in the vicinity of the kitchen which contained a quantity of leaves, seeds, and stems which later tested positive for cannabis.