A pensioner was caught with drugs when police chased a suspect through his home.
The pursuit through Ranjit Lohia’s flat on Dove Street led to an officer discovering 3.5g of cannabis flowering head at the property.
Wearing a fur-lined jacket, the 69-year-old appeared at Bristol Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday (March 9) and admitted possession of the Class B substance.
Prosecutor Paul Kelly said: “PC Zahoor was in attendance outside the property on October 13, 2019. He was engaged with a different suspect.
“He had carried out a Section 23 drug search on that suspect, and he was assaulted by that individual.”
At this point, the suspect ran into Lohia’s flat and the door was locked. Though police forced entry to the home, the initial suspect got away.
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But police then became concerned there could be drugs in the defendant’s property.
“When they carried out a search, they found 3.5g of cannabis flowering head in a drawer by the TV,” the prosecutor added.
“The defendant confirmed he was the owner and it was for his own personal use.”
The Crown Prosecution Service says repeat offending is a factor in pursuing prosecutions for personal cannabis use.
Lohia has similar offences dating back to 1993 but has been “out of trouble for a good 10 years, to his credit”, Mr Kelly told the court.
Will Palmer, mitigating, said: “Mr Lohia was smoking cannabis, but since then he has had a heart attack and doesn’t smoke cannabis for health reasons.
“He just wants to see the back of it. It was very long ago that this happened and he wants to put it behind him.”
Presiding Justice Sarah Sharp ordered Lohia to pay £85 in prosecution costs and a £21 victim surcharge.
She told him: “For this offence of possessing cannabis we are making a conditional discharge for six months.
“This means you are not being punished today but if you commit another offence during the next six months, you can be punished for today’s offence as well as the new offence.
“They’ve got the drugs and they will destroy them.”
