Man accepts $200 to transport cocaine, fined $3,500

A man who accepted $200 to transport 32 grammes of cocaine from Couva to Gasparillo was ordered to pay $3,500 in fines by a Couva magistrate.

Jelani Griffith, 28, was taken before magistrate Christine Charles in the Couva Magistrates Court yesterday.

He pleaded guilty to the charge of trafficking cocaine laid by PC Andile Mohammed of the Freeport Police Station. Prosecutor Sgt Rosan told the court that on Tuesday, police acting on information intercepted a blue Nissan B 14 driven by Griffith along the Sir Solomon Hochoy Highway near the Couva Children’s Hospital.

The court heard that Griffith then threw a bag under the car seat on seeing the police.
Police recovered the bag of cocaine and arrested Griffith. He was taken to the Freeport Station where he was charged.

Griffith told the magistrate he did not use drugs but only had taken up an offer to make money.
He was fined $3,500 in default nine months.