The Voinjama Magisterial Court in Lofa County, has sentenced a 45-year-old Ayoubah Kamara to four months.
Kamara was convicted for the unlicensed possession of a controlled drug, or substance such as tramadol.
He was tried when agents of the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA arrested him with 14 strips of tramadol.
The illicit drugs were discovered in a commercial vehicle Kamara was driving.
It was LDEA officers that searched, and discovered the drugs in the vehicle.
According to court documents, Kamara was arrested on September 21, at the Vezala Check Point when officers stopped, and searched a commercial vehicle traveling toward Voinjama.
The search uncovered 14 strips of tramadol, with a stated street value of L$28,000, equivalent to approximately US$147.36.
During the proceedings, Kamara denied knowing that the tramadol was in the vehicle.
He told the court that several people were on board the vehicle, and suggested that the substance may have been placed behind his seat without his knowledge.
He later admitted that the drugs were placed in the vehicle by his “car boy” identified in the court ruling as Beyan.
Beyan has remained on the run, according to the Court at the time the ruling was announced.
Despite his explanation, Kamara pleaded guilty to the charge.
His legal counsel subsequently appealed to the court for leniency since the defendant was not directly involved in the commission of the crime.
In its ruling, the court acknowledged Kamara’s claim that he could have been a “victim of circumstance.” However, the court said, drivers and individuals responsible for transporting passengers, or goods have a duty to exercise reasonable care over what is carried in their vehicles.
The court subsequently sentenced Kamara. It described the punishment as a deterrent to others, who may want to engage in any unlawful possession, or transportation of controlled substances.
