DANYANTIE Ghanpat, 26, of Smythfield, New Amsterdam, convicted of illegal drug possession two Wednesdays ago, was last week sentenced to a total of eight years imprisonment by Magistrate Geeta Chandan Edmond Persid.

The previously deferred sentence was imposed at the New Amsterdam Court last Monday on the mother of a three-year-old, when she returned there, after pleading guilty at Reliance Court, East Canje, also in Berbice.

Ghanpat admitted taking three grammes of cannabis (marijuana) to introduce it at New Amsterdam Court lock-ups.

She was given four years on each of two counts for possession and introduction and a fine of $30,000, with the alternative of an additional 14 weeks in jail.

Inflicting the custodial punishment, the magistrate noted the prevalence and seriousness of the offence and pointed out that narcotics eat away at the moral fabric of society.

The magistrate told the repeat offender that, based on her past experience, she should have exercised better judgment.

Ghanpat had, earlier, begged for leniency, claiming she cares for her ailing mother and that the penalty for that weight of drug was community service.

Police Lance Corporal Roberto Figuera, prosecuting, said the convict visited the precinct on February 9 when her brother, Bryan Ghanpat was in custody on a robbery under arms charge and gave him a meal of macaroni, chicken and rice.

But, upon examining the food container, cops discovered that a plastic lined the bottom and underneath were leaves seeds and stems of the prohibited plant.

The Prosecutor asked that the full penalty be meted out for the crime of introducing the marijuana to her incarcerated sibling, because she was previously sentenced to three years imprisonment on a similar conviction in 2003 but secured $25,000 bail pending an appeal which has not yet been heard.