Bryan Howard of Hyde Park, Timehri, was acquitted of a charge of possession of narcotics for the purpose of trafficking on Tuesday after Magistrate Tameika Clarke dismissed the matter at the Friendship Magistrate’s Court.
Howard had been charged under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act in relation to cannabis allegedly found at a farm at Yarrowkabra, Soesdyke-Linden Highway, on November 12, 2024.
Attorney-at-Law Bernard DaSilva represented Howard. DaSilva’s defence centred on the prosecution’s failure to establish that Howard owned, controlled, or occupied the property where the plants were allegedly found.
According to the defence submissions, Howard was not the owner of the property, had no personal belongings at a camp on the premises, and was not found tending the plants. The defence also pointed to evidence that Howard lived in Hyde Park, Timehri, and had told Police that he was at the farm to chase animals away from tomato plants after being offered the job by a man known to him as “Big Mike”.
Howard denied knowledge that the plants were cannabis and said he had never farmed.
The defence also challenged the handling and chain of custody of the alleged cannabis. DaSilva highlighted discrepancies in the markings on the evidence bags and argued that the prosecution had not called the analyst to explain the condition and handling of the samples.
The defence further submitted that the prosecution had failed to prove the essential elements of possession, knowledge and control, and argued that the evidence, taken as a whole, was insufficient to establish guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
DaSilva also challenged the particulars of the charge, noting that while the statement of offence alleged possession for the purpose of trafficking, the particulars referred to Howard cultivating cannabis.
The defence had initially made a no-case submission on May 28, 2026, which was overruled, prompting Howard to give sworn evidence and the matter to proceed to final submissions.
After considering the evidence and submissions, Magistrate Clarke dismissed the charge on Tuesday.
Source: INews Guyana
