A Centurion couple, who was arrested in February for being in possession of 46 dagga plants, appeared in court for the third time on Thursday, but the case was once again postponed for no good reason.
Police arrested Cathrine and Glen Naudé in their home in Lyttelton during what was known as one of this sector’s biggest drug busts.
However, the case was postponed on Thursday for the third time until 29 July.
The couple’s lawyer, Peter Jay, said he was very disappointed in the justice system. “The case was postponed on 27 May and today (19 June) there was no magistrate available to precede in the case,” Jay said.
The court allegedly also postponed the case due to load shedding.
Jay added that his clients were prepared and ready for the court on 27 May, but the metro police officers requested that an Afrikaans interpreter be provided. By 11:30 there was still no interpreter available, which resulted in the case being postponed.
Glen Naudé said he was very unhappy about how the matter had been handled thus far. “Justice shouldn’t just been seen, but should be seen to be done. I was hoping to be acquitted, but there was no magistrate available to handle the matter ,” he said.
The couple appeared in court for the first time on 24 February and was released on bail of R10 000 after being charged with the possession and distribution of dagga.
Rekord previously reported the police received a complaint about a generator making a noise in Hans Strijdom Avenue and upon their arrival the police noticed there was a strong odour of dagga in the air.
The police seized 46 plants, along with the hydroponics in which the dagga was grown, and drying boxes.
The couple’s lawyer, Peter Jay, reportedly told the court during the first hearing there was no evidence provided to confirm that the plants were indeed dagga plants. The worth of the confiscated plants was also not brought forth in court, he argued.
Naudé also said that while the state kept on postponing the case, he did not know where he would find money to pay his lawyer.
Read the previous article at: https://bit.ly/SVThY9
