Lawyer Applies For Drugs Retest

A man charged with being in possession of methamphetamine has been further remanded in custody after appearing in the High Court in Suva.
Kritesh Kumar is alleged to have been found in possession of 1.4 kilograms of methamphetamine in his Valelevu, Nasinu, home on October 31, 2017.
His lawyer, Abhay Singh, informed the court yesterday that he had filed an application to have the drugs retested to determine the exact amount of methamphetamine that was allegedly found.
He said the lab reports received revealed that the contents of the drugs found tested positive for less than 40 per cent of methamphetamine.
Mr Singh said if the content of the drugs was less then the magistrates court had jurisdiction to try the case.
He said the weight of the drugs was important as far as the charge was concerned because it would affect the accused’s sentence should he be convicted as charged.
State lawyer Juleen Fatiaki said Fiji’s jurisdiction recognised the quantity of the drugs rather than the purity.
Mr Singh raised the question as to why his client had to be charged for allegedly being in possession of 1.4 kilograms of illicit drugs when less than 40 per cent of the drugs were methamphetamine.
He said his client could not be charged for the remaining 60 per cent of the substance found.
He has been further remanded and will appear at a later date.
Edited by Epineri Vula
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