A St. Lucian man will spend the next sixteen months at Her Majestyâs Prison for the possession and cultivation of cannabis.{{more}}
Ulessis Monel was found guilty of having in his possession 21,792 grams (48 pounds) of cannabis with the intent to supply. He was also found guilty of the cultivation of eight cannabis plants. These offences occurred on February 14, 2009.
Monel was sentenced to sixteen months for possession and two months for the cultivation of cannabis when he appeared at the Serious Offences Court on Monday, November 16, 2009.
The facts of the case state that on February 14, 2009, police officers on patrol in the Fancy Mountains saw Monel tending to a field of cannabis. The officers then saw Monel go into a hut on the plantation. The officers went into the hut and met Monel with the marijuana. Under caution Mondel told the officers: âMe come to buy weed for a man in Fancy.â He was searched and 1000 Euro currency and EC$588 was found on him.
During the trial on Monday, as he was being cross examined by Prosecutor Inspector Nigel Butcher, Monel admitted that he had come to St. Vincent illegally to buy weed. He, however, maintained that he did not know the Fancy Mountains and it was the first time he had come to the country.
Monel said that he was beaten by police officers who found him in the mountains and at one point he was tied to a tree by the officers while one officer stood guard and the others went away into the mountain.
Officers who testified during the case denied this, when it was put to them, giving evidence similar to the aforementioned facts.
The money found on Monel was forfeited.(OS)
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