Man gets 12 months jail time for marijuana possession

THE LAE District Court sentenced a man charged with possession of dangerous drug (marijuana) to 12 month imprisonment at Buimo prison on Wednesday.
Magistrate Pious Tapil read out the charge to Exodus Muyu, 23, from Wavijara village in Huon Gulf, Morobe, and sentenced him to a year at Buimo prison after he pleaded guilty.
The court made the ruling based on court exhibits that were tendered by police prosecutor Maureen Pohei.
A routine police patrol stopped Muyu and found packs of dried marijuana in his possession on June 11 near the Lae main market.
The court heard that police turned their attention on Muyu who was packing the drug into a shopping bag near the front gate of the market.
A startled Muyu had tried to conceal the marijuana but his actions immediately caught the attention of the officers who detained him.
A search revealed 13 packs of dried marijuana that would have been sold for between K1 and K10.