Venezuelan jockeys in court for ganja

TWO professional jockeys from Venezuela have been granted $85,000 bail each by an Arima magistrate charged with having marijuana.

The men, ages 22 and 31, reappeared in court last Friday for allegedly having 6.5 kilogrammes of marijuana. North Eastern Division Task Force police arrested the men, who ride horses in races for a living, on December 28 at a house in Arouca. PC Taylor laid the charge.

When they first appeared in court, the prosecutor objected to bail, and the magistrate remanded them into police custody to last Friday to deal with the issue of bail. They pleaded not guilty.

Attorneys Stephen Mawer and Terry Boyer represented the accused Venezuelans saying they their clients were legally in the country, had work permits and had fixed addresses in Trinidad.

The magistrate granted them the $85,000 bail to be approved by a clerk of the peace with a cash alternative of $20,000. The case was adjourned to February 22.