Guilty verdict in meth and ammunition bust [1]
Friday, November 13, 2020 - 16:52. Updated on Friday, November 13, 2020 - 16:53.
Similati Tupou was found guilty of possession of 0.1 grams of methamphetamine and 94 point 22 blank ammunitions without a license at Pahu.
Justice Langi convicted him at the Nuku'alofa Supreme Court, on the two offences committed on February 28, this year.
The Court heard from Police witnesses, that they carried out a search without a warrant at the accused's home. This was after receiving reliable information that illicit drugs were being sold from this home.
Police arrived at the house and saw a vehicle parked outside. They searched the vehicle and found illicit drugs. They then went inside the house and informed the accused that they were going to search his house without a warrant. He did not object and police started the search.
The witness said, he told the accused to follow them as they searched the house, and when they searched the back of the house, they found six test tubes wrapped in toilet paper.
Police had also been informed that the accused makes these test tubes for smoking. The accused was asked who the tubes belonged to, and he said they were his.
The search then continued and another officer found a blue bag inside an empty onion sack that was hanging on the wall. They opened the bag and found one test tube inside, which had remnants of off yellow powder, which they suspected was meth and a small plastic bag of meth.
The accused was asked about the contents of the bag and he told them that it was just a fake thing and that it was salt.
Police told the accused that they will test to see if it was false drugs. They tested the substance inside the plastic bag and meth was detected. The accused was shown the result of the test and he was against asked who it belonged to. He maintained that it was his.
Also found was a yellow plastic bottle containing the ammunitions that had been hidden on top of the lining of a bed.
Evidence
The judge said, she did not believe the accused's story and his son's evidence.
She accepted the Crown's submission that the ammunitions belonged to the accused, because they were found at his house, where he admits the only occupants to be himself, his wife and their children.
The judge also accepted the evidence of the armourer who is not only and expert in arms and ammunitions but also responsible for issuing of licenses for the lawful possession of arms and ammunitions.
'On the other hand, the accused denied that the drugs were his and instead claimed that they belonged to a person named Sake, who he said had probably brought his bag inside the house and had hung it on the wall.'
She said, other than that, there was no real challenge to the chain of evidence or the analyst reports produced and the test carried out by the analyst.
'However, because the Prosecution has introduced a new device (Trunarc Analyser) that the police used for testing of the drug, and the fact that the accused was unrepresented and has not had the benefit of legal advice, it would be only fair that I first satisfy myself that the Crown has proven that the methods used in testing of the drugs were reliable and that they have established the identity of the drug beyond a reasonable doubt.'
The judge understood the importance to the police and the prosecution of this new device they seek to produce in court for the first time.
Prior to this, it has always been the practice of the police in every Class A drugs prosecution where a not guilty plea has been entered by the accused to or take samples of the suspected drugs to New Zealand for scientific analysis and confirmation.
This costs money and sometimes it involves a lot of inconvenience to the police, she said.
'However, the courts must still be cautious, especially when the accused is unrepresented, in ensuring that the evidence produced by the Crown is sufficiently reliable to be admitted in a court of law.'
In the present case, there was no objection to the certificates tendered by the police scientific analyst and it was not really in dispute that the substances were methamphetamine, as the only real issue in this case was possession.
From the evidence, the judge was satisfied that the Prosecution had proven both the charges against the accused beyond reasonable doubt.
He was then convicted for sentencing on December 14.