A Corentyne man who was charged after police allegedly found 63.1 grams of cocaine in his possession has been found not guilty following a trial at the Springlands Magistrate’s Court.
Thirty-seven-year-old Delon Moore appeared before Magistrate Tuanna Hardy on Thursday, where the court ruled that the prosecution had failed to eliminate reasonable doubt in the case against him.
The charge stemmed from an incident on December 1, 2025 at Scottsburg Public Road, Corentyne, Berbice, where police alleged that Moore was found with cocaine in his possession.
According to the prosecution’s case, a team of police officers, acting on information received, intercepted motor car PAC 1705 at approximately 6:40 p.m. The vehicle was being driven by Moore, who was the sole occupant.
Police alleged that Moore was informed that they intended to search his person and the vehicle for arms, ammunition and narcotics. It was further alleged that, before the search began, Moore made an admission, stating that he had “a lil piece of cocaine” in his pocket.
A search was then conducted, during which police claimed they found two transparent plastic bags containing a whitish, rock-like substance suspected to be cocaine in his left trouser pocket.
The substance was taken to the Springlands Police Station, where it was weighed and found to amount to 63.1 grams.
Moore was subsequently charged with possession of narcotics for the purpose of trafficking, contrary to Section 5(1)(a)(i) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act, Chapter 10:10 of the Laws of Guyana.
The Director of Public Prosecutions had initially advised that there was sufficient evidence to proceed with the charge.
However, during the trial, defence attorney-at-law Vinay Punwasi challenged aspects of the prosecution’s case, particularly the failure to produce police body camera footage of the alleged discovery of the cocaine and Moore’s alleged admission.
During cross-examination, police witness Constable Joseph reportedly admitted that his body camera had been activated during the incident. Defence counsel made several applications for the footage to be disclosed, but it was never produced in court.
The defence also questioned police witnesses about whether any contemporaneous notes or diary entries had been made regarding Moore’s alleged confession or admission.
The witnesses reportedly stated that none had been made, which the defence argued was contrary to established police procedures.
Based on the prosecution’s failure to produce the body camera footage and other inconsistencies raised during the trial, the court found that reasonable doubt existed.
Moore was therefore acquitted of the charge and found not guilty.
