Locked up abroad

‘Locked up abroad’ became a reality for a chef from Norway who was served two days in custody after being picked up in Bequia on Friday with 0.30g of cocaine.

It was an unusual story that the court heard yesterday when Dan Martinsen, 29, pleaded guilty to possession of the illegal drug before the Serious Offences Court.

The facts, as the police officer who arrested Martinsen in Port Elizabeth on Friday laid out, began on the night of November 30.

While on patrol, the officer had spotted the defendant and another man standing near a residence, the defendant standing near the window, and the other man in the yard. The officer observed something being passed through the window to the defendant, and turned his flashlight on them. While the officer advanced, the other man in the yard then seemingly yelled out ‘Police,’ and the defendant apparently dropped what was in his hand. The officer retrieved the foil and saw what looked to be cocaine inside. Martinsen had apparently told the officer “that is not mine”.

However, in court, he said that he probably had the substance but was drunk at the time and couldn’t exactly remember what happened. He mentioned that the guy had approached him that night but the defendant said that he had had no intention to do what was done.

He told Chief Magistrate Rechanne Browne-Matthias that he was “really sorry” about it and that he was not that kind of guy.

The chief magistrate noted that the quantity was small, and that the defendant had spent the weekend in prison. She stated that she believed this was a sufficient sentence.
She advised the tourist that while he may want to “enjoy what we have to offer,” that he should “keep a level head.”