Man caught with 127 wrappings of cocaine opposite police station

A man with 31 previous convictions has activated his two year suspended sentence after being caught walking opposite the Central Police Station with 127 wrappings of cocaine.

Mark Shallow, 53, of Georgetown and Kingstown, appeared at the Serious Offences Court before Senior Magistrate, Colin John, where he was fined for being in possession of a controlled drug- 22 grams of cocaine, with intent to supply it to another.

On January 7, 2025 about 9:15 p.m Sergeant of Police 147 Lewis headed a party of Special Services Unit(SSU) personnel on mobile patrol duty about Kingstown.

While on mobile patrol, Shallow was seen walking with a black knapsack along Bay Street, opposite the Central police Station, but as he appeared to have recognised the presence of the police he began to run.

PC 971 Gordon gave chase and Shallow was caught. The police identified themselves and a search was requested, to which Shallow consented.

While searching, a black plastic bag was found inside the knapsack along with a quantity of cash. The plastic bag was opened in Shallow’s presence and a number of foil wrappings containing a whitish substance resembling crack cocaine were found.

The wrappings were opened in Shallow’s presence and when Shallow was cautioned, he said, “the coke is mine and the money you see there is what I get from selling the coke. Me nar go tell yo no lie.”

He was then arrested and taken to the Criminal investigation Department. On arrival, the foil wrappings were counted and weighed in his presence.

Shallow was charged with possession of a controlled drug with intent to supply. He agreed that this is how the story went.

Shallow told the court that he was selling one rock for $5.00, and that he had nothing further to say, but when asked, Shallow told the Senior Magistrate that he found the cocaine in China Town.

While sentencing, Senior Magistrate John noted that there are no aggravating factors of the offence, but found that there was a lack of sophistication in concealing the drugs.

He also considered that Shallow had 31 previous convictions, one of which is for controlled drugs. Mitigating of the offender was that Shallow assisted the police.

The senior magistrate credited Shallow for his guilty plea, then fined him $813 to be paid in one month in default of which he will serve three months in prison. A confiscation order was also made for the cash.

John pointed out to Shallow that on October 30, 2024, he was sentenced to prison for two years, suspended for one year for the offence of wounding, and since he had now been convicted of another crime within the space of a year, he will now serve the two year sentence. The sentences will run consecutively.