Suspended term for drug offence

Bruno Cordoso, Dill Avenue, Lurgan, admitted unlawful possession of a class B drug on June 19 last year.

He was fined £200, ordered to pay a £15 offender’s levy, and sentenced to two months in prison, suspended for 18 months.

The court heard that police went to an address in Lurgan concerning an unrelated matter.

A search was carried out and in an upstairs bedroom they found a small plastic Ziploc bag containing suspected cannabis.

Cordoso confirmed the bag contained cannabis and said he had bought it for £15 for his own personal use.

A barrister representing the defendant said his client had relevant previous convictions.

Deputy District Judge Gerry Trainor said Cordoso had four previous drug convictions, including one for a class A drug, so the custody threshold was crossed.

He pointed out that the defendant had previously been on probation but this didn’t have any impact on him because he continued to offend.