KAREN Small, 22, who had been sentenced to three years’ imprisonment after being convicted on a narcotics trafficking charge, was on Tuesday granted $175,000 bail pending an appeal hearing by Justice James Bovell Drakes at the Berbice Assizes.

The appellant had in her possession 22 grammes of cannabis sativa when she had been taken to the Central Police Station in New Amsterdam by plain clothes police ranks.
On August 13, 2011, Small was in company of four male youths at her parents community shop in Angoy’s Avenue, New Amsterdam when a party of policemen stormed into the business premises, conducted searches on the males, and requested the appellant to accompany them to the Central Police Station in New Amsterdam; where then Woman Constable Collins, on carrying out a search on Small’s person, found between her legs a black plastic bag  containing 15 small Ziplock bags in which were contained suspected leaves, seeds and stems of the marijuana plant.
Small was subsequently charged and found guilty. In addition to the custodial penalty, she was fined $26,400.
The bail petition was filed by Attorneys-at-law C. Ryan Crawford and Ms Charlyn Artiga.