Lateef pleads guilty to drug charges
During proceedings, the court was informed that the drug evidence had gone missing.
Tuesday 08 September 2026 | 16:30
Former lawyer Abdul Lateef pleaded guilty today to two drug charges and a breach of his bail condition, shortening what was scheduled to be a hearing.
Lateef appeared before Resident Magistrate Lisiate Fotofili, charged with possession of 1.8 grams of methamphetamine, 5.0g of cannabis and breaching his bail condition.
During proceedings, the court was informed that the drug evidence had gone missing.
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Police Prosecutor Inspector Jone Tupua told the court that despite the missing drug evidence, the prosecution was able to provide an analyst's report as evidence in the drug case.
He compared it to a murder case, where the prosecution does not take a dead body to court to prove its case but instead provides a pathologist's report outlining the post-mortem examination conducted on the body.
Lateef is currently serving a sentence for another similar offence before Magistrate Shageeth Somaratne, where he was found guilty of possessing 9.5g of methamphetamine and 3.5g of cannabis.
He will remain in custody until September 18 for mitigation submissions.
