Joel Andem’s son liberated of all drug charges against him

The 20-year-old son of incarcerated convict Joel Andem was on Wednesday found not guilty of drug charges in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court.

The accused, Tamoya Andem, and his co-accused, Zydan Douglas, were both acquitted.

The prosecution led with evidence that on May 13, 2021, young Andem and Douglas, both passengers in a motorcar, were stopped along Derrymore Road in St Andrew after the police observed a traffic breach by the driver of the car.

The police told the court that on approaching the car there was a strong scent of marijuana coming from the vehicle.

As a consequence, a search was conducted.

The search revealed one bag of the weed in the backseat of the car and six other bags in the trunk of the vehicle.

The total weight of the ganja was over 100 pounds.

Both men denied knowing that ganja was in the car, and in their defense, claimed that they had just been picked up by the driver and another passenger who were also in the vehicle.

The other passenger and the driver had pleaded guilty to the ganja charges before the start of the trial of Andem and Douglas.

In finding the two accused men not guilty of having marijuana in their possession, and dealing and trafficking in marijuana, the judge found that the principal police officer involved in the case had been discredited during cross-examination by attorneys Peter Champagnie and Javed Grant, who appeared for Andem and Douglas, respectively.

The judge also noted that the smell of marijuana alone was not sufficient in law to find both men guilty.