An asylum seeker who tried taking hashish onboard the Bibby Stockholm bit a police officer as he was being arrested.
A courtroom has heard that when Kenson Noel, 29, arrived on the migrant barge in Portland Port in Dorset he admitted to workers that he had introduced a small quantity of marijuana with him.
After this revelation, the asylum seeker from Trinidad and Tobago was searched and workers present in his possession 6.5g of hashish, a set of scales, baggage and £800 of money.
Noel was then arrested however as he was positioned in handcuffs he turned on the police officer, Christopher Grant, and bit him on the elbow.
He has pleaded responsible to possessing a category B drug and assaulting a police officer.
The Bibby Stockholm migrant barge the place Kenson Noel tried to deliver hashish on board. After he was stopped by workers, Noel then bit a police officer as he was being arrested
Magistrates in Weymouth heard that Noel fled Trinidad and Tobago after being threatened by gangs.
Christina Norgan, prosecuting, mentioned: ‘The defendant arrived as a brand new resident of the Bibby Stockholm barge.
‘He made workers conscious that he had hashish on him and was instructed he wouldn’t be allowed to take it onto the barge. A workers member referred to as Portland Port Police to help.
‘They took him to a cabin and searched him, they discovered the hashish alongside scales, baggage and huge portions of money – £800 was discovered. Through the search, he was arrested and needed to be restrained.
‘He bit the sufferer on his left elbow, broke the pores and skin and brought on it to bleed. He was then arrested for assaulting an emergency employee.’
Ms Norgan added: ‘In interview, he admitted the hashish was for his personal private use. He has no earlier convictions and is of earlier good character.’
Ian Brazier, mitigating, mentioned his shopper thought the quantity of hashish he had was authorized because it was for his personal use to assist him sleep.
He claims Noel had the scales so he might make sure how a lot hashish he had and the money was from his household in Trinidad and was later given again to him.
Mr Brazier mentioned: ‘In lots of Caribbean international locations, possession of a restricted quantity of hashish is authorized, as much as 28g. It was not understood by him that this quantity of hashish was unlawful on this nation. He finds it helps along with his anxiousness and helps to calm him down.
‘He was sincere and open about the truth that he had hashish. Nonetheless, how can it’s {that a} man who’s being absolutely co-operative finally ends up biting a police officer?
‘The officer carried out a search, the defendant mentioned he had hashish in his bag. When the officer goes to look within the bag, Noel places his hand into the bag, his hand is grabbed and he’s put in handcuffs.
‘He complained concerning the tightness of {the handcuffs} and was being restrained.
‘This can be a man in handcuffs, a warrant for hashish doesn’t require handcuffs. He was cornered, handcuffed, anxious. It feels a bit like utilizing a sledgehammer to crack a walnut.’
The case was adjourned for pre-sentence stories.
Noel is the second migrant from the Bibby Stockholm to be convicted. Ahmed Haffa (pictured), 24, punched and bit the 2 safety guards as they tried to cease him for shoplifting in Weymouth in December 2023
Noel, who’s now staying in a lodge in Bournemouth, was granted unconditional bail and can seem at Poole Magistrates’ Court docket subsequent month. He can be sentenced at a later date.
He’s the second asylum seeker from the Bibby Stockholm to be convicted of a prison offence because the controversial barge arrived in Dorset final summer season.
Ahmed Haffa, 24, punched and bit the 2 safety guards as they tried to cease him for shoplifting in Weymouth in December 2023.
He failed to point out up for his courtroom case in February and was discovered responsible of assault and theft in his absence.
Though a warrant was instantly issued for his arrest Haffa stays at giant to at the present time.
