JUSTICE Roxanne George, on Thursday, granted bail, pending an appeal, to convicted drug trafficker Stephen Henry.

The appellant, whose petition was presented by attorneys-at-law Ms. Kim Kyte-John and Ms. Tania Warren-Clements, is expected to post $350,000 surety until his case is heard.
He said, in his affidavit, that he was standing in his yard at Corriverton, Corentyne, Berbice, in company with his barber and another man, when five heavily armed policemen – Sergeant Braithwaithe, Detective Corporal Sam, Detective Constable Doris, Constable Williams and Constable Keron Mannie pushed his gate and ran inside.
He said the policemen forcefully threw him and the other two men to the ground and began hitting them about their bodies whilst shouting: “Nobody move”.
Henry said he was informed that the police found two marijuana plants and a black bag containing leaves, seeds and stems, suspected to be cannabis sativa and he was arrested and placed before Magistrate Fabio Azore at Whim Court, where he was charged with being in possession of 13 and a half grammes of cannabis sativa for the purpose of trafficking and cultivating the prohibited plant.
The convict said, following a trial, he was found not guilty of cultivating but guilty of being in possession of a narcotic for the purpose of trafficking.
Meanwhile, in her reasoning, Magistrate Azore had noted that Constable Mannie had seen three men standing in the yard and one, a male of mixed race, threw a black plastic bag over a nearby mesh fence into a vacant adjoining lot. The bag landed approximately eight feet away from the fence and the mixed race man, later identified as Henry, was informed of the observation and requested to accompany the officer to the area where he saw the bag that was retrieved by the latter, who, on opening it, saw a quantity of leaves, seeds and stems suspected to be marijuana.
The magistrate had said, at the end of the prosecution’s case, that the defendant was called to lead a defence and did so by making an unsworn statement which was not accepted by the court, the evidence of the prosecution being found cogent.
Henry was found guilty and sentenced to three years imprisonment and fined $10,000, because the magistrate stated that there was strong and compelling evidence led by the prosecution, which remained largely unchallenged by the defence.