District constable freed of ganja charges

A district constable accused of attempting to transport ganja into the Horizon Adult Correctional Centre has been freed by the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court.

Newton Braham, 34, was found not guilty yesterday of introducing contraband into a penal institution and possession of ganja.

The prosecution argued in court that Braham arrived at the facility for duty on November 2, 2019, and was searched and found with a juice box containing 5.5 ounces of ganja.

He was arrested and later charged.

In his defence, Braham, who admitted to having the juice box in his possession, testified that he did not know that it contained ganja.

He also testified that he had left the juice in a refrigerator at work to be frozen overnight and had collected it in the morning.

Braham's lawyer, Peter Champagnie, QC, during cross-examination of the witnesses, suggested that the juice box was taken from a refrigerator which all police officers had access to at the facility.

One of the witnesses also admitted that Braham, in his conduct before and after the ganja was found, had not acted in a manner that would have caused his superior to be suspicious.

Consequently, the judge found that the district constable was not guilty, noting that there was reasonable doubt and therefore a conviction could not be handed down.

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