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Magistrate Ann Mc Lennan yesterday dismissed all charges instituted against four men, after upholding no-case submissions made on their behalf by their attorneys.The quartet made their appearance at the Wales Magistrate’s Court.The men, Jhan Ramdhany, Albert Major, Elroy Bowling and Ravi Bowling, were jointly charged for possession of 1150 grams of cannabis sativa for the purpose of trafficking.The prohibited herb was found among some wood packed on a trailer at Kamuni, West Bank Demerara on February 25, 2010, during a search by law enforcement officers.At the time of the search, the tractor was driven by Ramdhany.The other three defendants were his employees,Cheap NFL Jerseys, who worked with him at his timber grant to cut and pack wood for sale to sawmills.It was alleged that a bag was discovered hidden among the wood which had to be unpacked, by a party of policemen.It was also alleged that the lawmen discovered two rounds of 12-gauge ammunition in the bag, along with implements capable of making a gun trap.The party of policemen comprised Inspector Khrishandat Ramanah and three other ranks.The prosecution had contended that Ramdhany confessed that he and his workmen had packed the wood on the tractor and “nobody else nah been deh”, when they questioned him about their discovery at the scene.After the close of the Prosecution’s case, the defence attorneys – Lyndon Amsterdam who appeared for Jhan Ramdhany, and Albert Major , Joylon Hatmin and Jaya Manickchand for the number two, three and four defendants respectively – made no case submissions and questioned whether the statements by Ramdhany was really an admission of guilt.Amsterdam also questioned whether there was any evidence pointing to any one of the defendants or evidence pointing to the appearance as a matter of law that the men were acting in concert.He submitted that the evidence of the prosecution witnesses did not satisfy the elements of the offence.The defence attorneys also contended that the evidence of the witnesses were conflicting, and in fact, the bag containing the marijuana was not admitted into evidence since there was no nexus between the bag and the labeling done by the investigating ranks who gave evidence on the issue.In upholding the no-case submission, Magistrate Mc Lennan found that the prosecution had failed to prove that the men had knowledge of the narcotics and ammunition found by the police. |
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