FIVE men who were arrested during an early morning raid in Beetham Gardens on Wednesday, appeared before a Port of Spain magistrate yesterday, charged with possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking.

Kemo McShine, Kenroy Peters, Akil Davis, Terrence Cross and Joel Medina all appeared before Magistrate Andrew Stroude in the Tenth Court.

They all pleaded guilty and, with the exception of Medina and Peters, were fined. Medina was sentenced to 18 months hard labour, while Peters was ordered to serve 200 hours of community service.

All five men lived at 25th Street, Phase 4, Beetham Gardens. Their ages ranged from 18 to 24.

McShine was the only one with legal representation. He was represented by attorney Nicole Basraj and was charged with having 100 grammes of the drug. He was fined $3,500 and given three months to pay.

Cross faced the charge of having in his possession 250 grammes. The drugs were reportedly found in his bedroom. He told the magistrate the narcotics may have belonged to his girlfriend with whom he lived, but later confessed he usually sold marijuana. He was fined a total of $5,000.

’The only reason I am not sending you to jail is because this is your first offence. I will just look at this as an act of unintelligence,’ Stroude said.

Peters, Davis and Medina were together charged with being in possession of 100 grammes of the narcotics. The court heard that the drug was found in a house belonging to Medina. He was sentenced after the court heard he had previous and pending matters of a similar offence. Officers reportedly found the drugs hidden in a toilet bowl. All three men were in the house at the time.