Tobago soca singer pleads guilty to ganja charge

TOBAGO soca artiste Anthony Bacchus, stage name Junior Bana, pleaded guilty at the Scarborough magistrates court on Monday to the charge of possession of marijuana.

Bacchus, 30, of Zion Hill, Belle Garden was placed on a bond in the sum of $20,000 to keep the peace and be of good behaviour for two years.

Police said around 4.45 am on Sunday they executed a firearm and ammunition search warrant at a one-room wooden house occupied by Bacchus. During the search, police found three brown paper bags with three transparent pieces of plastic containing 84 grammes of marijuana in a refrigerator. Bacchus was subsequently arrested and charged.

The Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, which came into effect in December last year, permits each adult to possess a maximum of 30 grammes of marijuana and four marijuana plants in their home.

Bacchus was the runner-up in the 2020 Tobago Soca Monarch finals and was a semifinalist in the International Soca Monarch with his 2020 song Groovy. Bacchus recently released a video for the song on YouTube.