Bath Settlement man sentenced to three years for trafficking narcotics

Ameer Mohamed Ali, a 36-year-old resident of Bath Settlement, West Berbice, was sentenced to three years in prison for trafficking narcotics.

He appeared before Magistrate Allan Wilson at the Mahaicony Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.

The court was informed that on Tuesday, March 25, Ali was found in possession of cannabis.

He pleaded guilty to the charge. Magistrate Wilson made it clear to Ali the severity of his offense, to which Ali expressed remorse and requested mercy from the court.

However, Magistrate Wilson firmly sentenced him to three years in prison and imposed a fine of $100,000.

On the day of the incident, a team of officers from the Mahaicony Police Station, acting on credible information, conducted a stop-and-search operation on the Park Public Road in Mahaicony. A blue and black mini bus, which approached from the west, was stopped, and the driver complied with the officers’ instructions.

During the search of the bus, the officers initially found nothing on the passengers. However, they discovered a black and yellow haversack hidden under the back seat of the bus, which no one claimed ownership of.

Upon opening the bag in the presence of the passengers, they uncovered a red shirt wrapped around three black plastic bags containing leaves, seeds, and stems suspected to be cannabis.

The officers seized the bag and brought the passengers to the Mahaicony Police Station for further investigation.

A subsequent search of the haversack revealed a Ministry of Health voucher in the front pocket, clearly bearing Ali’s name. He later admitted ownership of both the bag and the narcotics, was advised of his rights, and formally arrested.

The seized narcotics weighed a total of 650 grams, leading to his eventual charge.