Kitty vendor on ganja charge says cop arrested wrong man
A vendor, accused of ganja trafficking, yesterday told a city court that the police arrested him although they knew he was the wrong man.
Gregory Payne, 48, was brought before Magistrate Faith McGusty and read a charge which stated that he on January 29, at Georgetown, had 203 grammes of cannabis in his possession for trafficking.
A frustrated Payne, of Kitty, pleaded not guilty to the allegation.
According to Payne, the cannabis was found in a yard he was sitting in and the person that was selling it was allowed to run away when police came to the premises. He told the court that he has steel in his leg and cannot run but since he did not do anything wrong he didn’t see the need to run. When he didn’t run, he said, an officer grabbed him and asked “Wah mek you ain run man?”
He said he was then arrested along with other men, one of whom was charged earlier for possessing a gramme of cannabis.
According to Payne, the police are only holding him falsely and he asked to be able to bring three persons who would be able to testify on his behalf.
But police prosecutor Seon Blackman stated that the drug was found on Payne.
Magistrate McGusty remanded the defendant and adjourned the matter to February 13, when the prosecution is expected to serve statements. Meanwhile, in the courtroom
Chief Magistrate Ann of McLennan, an Essequibo man was charged with possessing 149 grammes of cannabis for trafficking and he too was remanded.
Abdool Saleem denied the allegation. It is alleged that he committed the offence on January 24 at 70 Kilometres, Barama Road, Essequibo.
According to police prosecutor Neville Jeffers, Saleem admitted that the drug was for his personal use.
He was remanded to prison by the Chief Magistrate until February 9, when the case is due to be heard at the Bartica Magistrate’s Court.