The defendant was represented by Elena Papamichael, of the Garden Court Criminal Defence team, instructed by Sabrina Neves of GT Stewart Solicitors.
The below content has been reproduced from a GT Stewart press release.
Elena Papamichael represented a defendant who had been charged with offences of possession, with intent to supply class A and B drugs, and possession of a criminal property.
The defendant was stopped in a vehicle by the police and found to be in possession of a large quantity of drugs as well as cash. During the course of a s.18 search at the defendant’s home address, further cash and scales were recovered.
In the defendant’s police station interview, they accepted that the drugs were in their possession however, denied that they had any intention to supply the drugs to anyone else. They also confirmed that the money found in their possession was not criminal property but in fact money that they had obtained through an entirely legitimate source.
Evidence was obtained which supported their account and Elena made repeated representations to the Crown Prosecution Service in which the CPS was invited to accept pleas to simple possession of class A and B drugs. However, the Crown Prosecution Service maintained that they would be proceeding with the case against the defendant.
At the start of the trial, the defendant pleaded guilty to simple possession of class A & B drugs and the trial proceeded in relation to the remaining counts.
After almost three years on bail, the defendant was unanimously acquitted by the jury on all counts in just under 2 hours. They were sentenced to a conditional discharge for the offences of simple possession of class A and B drugs.
