Jury trial for man on cannabis charge

Press, 6 October 1987, Page 6

Jury trial for man on cannabis charge

Five transactions in which an under-cover constable was said to have paid $2905 in all to purchase 731.5 grams of cannabis were related in the District Court yesterday. After a preliminary hearing, Mr C. W. Crawford and Mrs A. Hill, Justices of the Peace, committed Lua’ai Lavea, aged 34, a laundry assistant, for trial by jury in the District Court on five charges of selling cannabis to an under-cover constable on dates from January 8 to February 28. Lavea was remanded on bail pending a date for his trial. Counsel, Mr M. J.

Knowles, reserved his defence. Sergeant M. J. South prosecuted. An under-cover constable, from Wellington, gave evidence of making the five purchases from the defendant while he was working in Christchurch from December last year, to July, to gain evidence of criminal activities.

Most of the purchases were arranged or took place in a hotel, or a park in New Brighton. The purchases comprised five tinfoilwrapped cannabis cigarettes (or bullets), weighing 3.1 g, for $75, and

cannabis purchase of from 21.4 g to 380 g. One purchase was made by the under-cover constable for $1560, and the total paid for the five purchases was $2905. A detective said that, when questioned, Lavea said he smoked cannabis, but had not sold cannabis to anybody. He was then asked if he knew “Kenny,” the assumed name of the undercover constable, and he said he did. He agreed he had sold the various amounts to this man, but said he did not sell cannabis regularly and only did it as a favour to Kenny.