A DERRYLIN man has been fined for being caught with cannabis twice in one month.
Lee Kiely (20) of Fort Lee, Derrylin appeared at Enniskillen Magistrates Court on Monday where he pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing a Class B drug, mainly cannabis, and one count of driving without insurance.
The charges arose from two separate incidents in February this year.
On February 3, police stopped Kiely at McDade’s in Derrylin after a check on his car, a Vauxhall Zafira, revealed it was not insured. The officers could smell cannabis coming from the car, and when they searched the vehicle they found a small quantity of the drug. Kiely made no reply when cautioned, but later made full admissions in interview.
On February 17 police were carrying out a vehicle check on Main Street, Derrylin when they stopped Kiely driving a Volkswagen Golf.
The officers again detected the smell of cannabis coming from the car, and a search uncovered three rolled joints.
Kiely told the officers the joints belonged to him, said they contained cannabis, and that he used the drug to help him with his nerves.
Defence solicitor Myles McManus explained, in relation to offence of no insurance, Kiely was actually insured as a named driver on another policy but because he held a provisional licence, and because he was not fulfilling the requirements of a provisional driver, he was not covered when stopped.
He added that while Kiely had previous no insurance convictions, and was currently disqualified until the end of September, that offence had been due to an oversight by the defendant and was not because he had been deliberately breaking the law.
Deputy District Judge Peter King fined Kiely a total of £150 for the two drug offences, and £250 for having no insurance. He also disqualified him from driving for one month.
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