A Warwick man was fined $750 for being in possession of cocaine.

Ricardo Santos, 32, admitted possessing of 0.61 grams of cocaine after he was caught with the drug at Hamilton Police Station.

In June last year, Santos was taken to the station for an unrelated matter and was searched when officers found a white powder inside his wallet.

An analysis revealed the substance to be cocaine with a 69 per cent purity.

Appearing before Magistrates’ Court last week, Santos said he had chosen to participate in an Employee Assistance Programme rather than participate in a social inquiry report that had previously been requested by the court.

In light of his participation in the EAP programme, the social inquiry report was not completed. The Department of Court Services recommended that Santos receive an alternative sentence that did not include its supervision.

Santos told the court: “I’ve been enrolled on the EAP programme since July and it has helped me. I am ready to hop off this bus,” to which Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo replied: “And get on the next one”.