Our 26 year old client was charged with supplying 2.4 grams of cocaine, and a ‘backup’ charge of drug possession, after police located drugs and drug paraphernalia including electronic scales and resealable bags in a kitchen cupboard at his one-bedroom unit in Paddington.
Our client was the sole lessee of the unit, although his girlfriend also lived there and friends also attended for social gatherings.
The prosecution case failed because they could not prove beyond reasonable doubt that our client ‘exclusively possessed’ the drugs, to the exclusion of all others.
In drug cases, police must prove ‘exclusive possession’- in other words, police must exclude any reasonable possibility that the drugs belonged to someone else.
In this case, our lawyers ensured that ample evidence came before the court that the drugs could have belonged to our client’s partner or any one of a number of people who recently attended the unit.
The Magistrate in Downing Centre Local Court therefore found our client ‘not guilty’ and dismissed both of the charges.