Moruga woman fined $5,000 for having ammo

A 34-YEAR-old Moruga woman who was charged with possession of seven shotgun cartridges told a magistrate yesterday she had found the ammunition near a river and brought them home to show her husband. But Anora Abdullah-Mohammed’s explanation was not accepted by Princes Town magistrate Jai Narine who found her guilty and fined her $5,000  which he ordered be paid immediately, or she would serve 12 months in jail with hard labour.

Abdullah-Mohammed pleaded guilty to possession of seven rounds of shotgun cartridges which police found in her home on Wednesday. Police prosecutor Cpl Zamsheed Mohammed said the accused had a clean record and this was her first offence. By late yesterday afternoon no one had come forward to pay the fine and Abdullah-Mohammed was sent to the Women’s Prison at Golden Grove, Arouca to start her sentence. Abdullah-Mohammed and husband Richard Noel, were arrested around 6 am Wednesday by Princes Town Task Force officers who executed an arms and ammunition search warrant. The cartridges were found in a bedroom.

Noel, 31, also pleaded guilty, but when he later admitted to Magistrate Narine that he did not know there was ammunition at his John John Road, Moruga home, Magistrate Narine entered a not-guilty plea for Noel. PC Fazeer Sulliman laid the charges. Noel was remanded in custody until Monday. Police said when they went to the couple’s home to execute the warrant, they spotted another man who was holding a firearm. The man escaped by fleeing through nearby bushes.