A 27-year-old man who told Magistrates’ Court that he was an employee of the Bermuda Police Service pleaded guilty to possessing 10.76 grams of cannabis.

Paires Garnett was a passenger in a car that was stopped by Police officers on the South Shore Road, Southampton on July 29th of this year.

Yesterday the court heard that Garnett began to act nervous in the presence of the officers, who then searched him and found the cannabis stashed in one of the front pockets of his pants.

To the surprise of Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner Garnett told the court that he was an employee of the Bermuda Police Service. An astonished Mr. Warner replied: “What did you say?”

Garnett replied that he worked in the Telecommunications Department at the police force and also installed fibre optics in the Magistrates Court building,

He said knew what he did was illegal and that he had learned from his mistakes.

He asked the court to take into consideration that this was a first offence, that he was not a drug dealer and that the cannabis was for his own personal use.

Garnett was fined $2,000, however if he fails to pay the fine he will spend ten months in jail.

When contacted by the Royal Gazette <$>a police spokesperson said the Service had no record of Garnett as an employee.

The driver of the car, 29-year-old, Kevin Young, pleaded guilty to possessing .33 grams of cannabis and was fined $1,000.

Police found the cannabis hidden under his cap.