Shahida Begum of the Garden Court Crime Team acted for the defendant, IH, instructed by Alexander Bennett Solicitors.
The defendant, IH, was charged along with several others with production and supply of cannabis. A large volume of material was served before trial, however, this indicated irregularities and a lack of disclosure. An abuse of process application was made on behalf of IH at trial. As a result of the submissions, material was served that indicated the police had delegated an investigatory role to an interpreter in relation to phone downloads.
The same interpreter had acted for seven defendants at police interview. He had also lost his accreditation, due to providing inaccurate information to the immigration authorities. The prosecution conceded this was irregular and no disclosure had in fact been conducted on any of the handsets.
The prosecution applied to adjourn the trial, this was successfully resisted. The prosecution were required to offer no evidence and not guilty verdicts were returned by the jury.
