Jail on drug charge

Press, 11 December 1976, Page 7

Jail on drug charge

A man, who sold a stick j of cannabis for $lB to I the undercover constable,l ‘Harry Harvey,” was jailed ; for six months by Mr Justice Somers in the Supreme .Court yesterday on a charge iof selling a narcotic. The man. Clive William i Stoddart Simon Johnstone, aged 26, unemployed, was found guilty by a jury of i the offence, which was comimitted on July 6 in the bar lof the Oxford Hotel, in Colombo Street. Johnstone had hidden the cannabis in one of his socks. Mr D. H. Stringer, for Johnstone, said that the prisoner was one of a long list of persons who were be'fore the Court because of I the work of Constable “Harry Harvey.” The charge!

involved the least detrimen-; tai of the drugs. Johnstone had given the! stick of cannabis to the con-i stable, who had asked him; to help him out. The con-!: stable had kept at Johnstone' for some months to supply! him with further drugs, but) Johnstone had refused to do so. Johnstone was not a drug dealer, Mr Stringer : said. His Honour said that Johnstone had been before! the Courts before, but none ■ of the convictions was relevant to the present offence, i The legislature had provided in the Narcotics Act that a term of imprisonment had to be imposed for the offence (of selling drugs unless there (were special circumstances. IThere was none in this case, i

|so a prison sentence was mandatory. Johnstone would be dealt (with on the basis that he (had sold one stick of cannabis, his Honour said. ■ Evidence was given at! !Johnstone's trial that he was! jin the hotel when two detec-j tives questioned two women who were with him. Johnstone wandered over to the bar and told Constable Harvey that he was sweating because he was carrying cannabis. Johnstone told the constable that the stick was part of a new shipment which had come off a ship the previous night. He asked the constable if he wanted a certain amount set aside for him each week, as he was supplying every day.