Handed over cannabis before he was taken for full body search

Just before he was going to be taken to a police station for a full body search a 22-year-old man handed over a bag containing cannabis to an officer.
Symbol of law and justice in the empty courtroom, law and justice concept.Symbol of law and justice in the empty courtroom, law and justice concept.
Symbol of law and justice in the empty courtroom, law and justice concept.

Christopher Smyth, Ballynamoney Park, Lurgan, was fined £300 last Wednesday at Craigavon Magistrates Court for unlawful possession of a class B drug.

The court heard that on May 31 this year at 10.25am police at the William Street car park saw a vehicle containing three young males and a female.

Smyth’s breath smelled strongly of cannabis and when police informed him they were taking him to the station for a full body search he handed over a small clear bag containing a substance. The defendant admitted it was herbal cannabis and that it belonged to him for his own personal use.

Mr Richard Monteith, defending, said that after his client’s initial denial the suggestion he would be taken to the station did the trick.