A FORMER prison officer was on Thursday morning remanded to prison after being slapped with charges for trafficking narcotics and being in possession of prohibited articles in the Camp Street Prison.Ceon Paul of Lot ‘Y’ Bent Street, Werk-en-rust, Georgetown, appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court before Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry. Paul who reportedly had been a prison officer for over a year, pleaded not guilty to the charge which read that on January 12 at the Camp Street Prison, Georgetown, he had in his possession 30 grams of cannabis for the purpose of trafficking.
The court was told that on the same day, it is alleged that he took eight packs of Bristol cigarettes along with a Digicel sim card into the prison.
The defendant pleaded guilty with explanation, telling the court that he had only two packs of cigarettes in his possession.
Paul, who was unrepresented by counsel, went on to tell the court that from time to time other prison officers would carry in these same articles for prisoners.
He pointed out that he knows that they are prohibited, but only in the cells.
Police Prosecutor Bharat Mangru informed the court that on the day in question, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Cameron conducted a search on Paul and found six packs of cigarettes in his crotch, one in his shirt pocket and the other in his right pants pocket. During the search, he was found with a plastic bag around his arms; a search of the bag yielded leaves, seeds and stems suspected to be from the plant cannabis sativa.
The defendant was then arrested and charged for the said offence.
The chief magistrate informed the defendant of the penalty attached to such an offence, which is a fine of $75,000 or 12 months imprisonment. The teary-eyed Paul apologised for committing the offence, said it would not happen again and requested reasonable bail.
The magistrate said she took into consideration that Paul saved the court’s time and sentenced him to six months imprisonment for taking the illicit articles into the prison. He was remanded for the narcotics-trafficking charge, for which he will make his second court appearance before Magistrate Ann McLennan on January 29.