Car drug dealer convicted [1]
Wednesday, June 23, 2021 - 19:18
Sosaia Fifita was found guilty today, 23 June, of unlawful possession of 2.36 grams of methamphetamine and 3.14 grams of cannabis.
Hon. Mr Justice Niu convicted him after a trial, at the Nuku’alofa Supreme Court.
The offending was on November 14, 2019 when one of the police officers received a telephone call from an informer, saying that the accused was driving around in his car selling illicit drugs.
The accused was parked on the east parking area of Vaiola hospital at Tofoa. Police officers were dispatched to this area immediately and stopped the defendant's vehicle at the entrance to the parking area.
A police witness said, he saw and recognized the accused's vehicle because it's rear window was broken and that the accused had had a sheet of plastic taped up in it's place and that he saw the accused standing by the driver's door.
The officers grabbed him there. A small glass bottle lying on the pavement by the front right and a telephone lying at the front of the accused's car. One of the officers opened the little bottle and fourd four packs of methamphetamine in it.
Other officers then went and searched the accused's car. The accused admitted that he had drugs in his car, and that it was wheat, meaning cannabis. The search found the cannabis in a bag inside the car.
Proven
The judge said, the defence argued that the Crown's evidence to possession of the methamphetamine was only circumstantial, without any direct evidence such, as there was with regard to the cannabis and the accused denied that he knew of it.
“The little glass bottle ought to have been dusted for fingerprints but that was not done and it should have been done because of the denial thereof by the accused. lt ought to have been mandatory for that to be done,” said the defence counsel.
In response, the Crown argued, that it would and should be reasonably inferred that the little glass bottle containing the methamphetamine belonged to the accused, because the little bottle was closer to the accused than the telephone which was lying at the front of the car. The accused acknowledged the phone was his.
In addition, the presence of the cannabis and of cash in different places in the car and of the smoking pipe in the back seat, for use with either cannabis or methamphatamine, supports that inference, said the Crown counsel.
The judge found that the Crown had proved the two charges against the accused.
"I am satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the small glass bottle containing the four packs of methamphetamine was on the accused and that it fell beside his car, together with his telephone."
The accused was represented by Sifa Tu'utafaiva.
'Inoke Finau represented the Crown prosecutor.
Fifita will be sentenced on a later date.