Test on white powder sinks drugs case
Police have dropped a drugs charge against a Hornby man who has always maintained the white powder they found on him was a sports supplement.
Nineteen-year-old Tonihi James Riki walked free from the Christchurch District Court after scientific testing of the powder showed he was right.
Judge Alistair Garland granted the police request to withdraw the charge of possession of amphetamine at a case review hearing, months after Riki had pleaded not guilty.
Riki, who works unloading containers, was arrested near the Horncastle Arena in Christchurch at 9.15pm on July 20, when he was walking a friend’s mother to her home.
He was spoken to by the police concerning an unrelated issue, but he was intoxicated and police were also concerned that he was also in breach of a bail curfew. They didn’t charge him with the breach, because he was so close to his home at the time.
When he was searched, the police found two point bags in the front pocket of his vest.
One bag contained a white powder and they also found a soft-shell capsule which contained the same white powder.
Riki told police it was the sports supplement Creatine, but police tested on their equipment and laid the charge of possession of amphetamine.
At a court session last year, Riki’s defence counsel Glenn Dixon even gave the police the bottle of remaining pills, which said on its label that it had contained 1000 capsules of BCAA – branch chain amino acids.
Mr Dixon explained it was a sports supplement used by weight trainers and high performance athletes.
After Riki’s not guilty plea, the powder was sent to ESR for more detailed testing and the results were available to the police ahead of his latest case review.
The testing showed no indication of controlled drugs or medicines, and the police then asked to drop the charge.
Outside the court, Riki said he had got the capsules off a friend who was also using the supplement, but the police had immediately assumed it was methamphetamine and said they were charging him with possession of a class A drug.
Riki said he had been frustrated for six months because police would not believe him, even after he gave them the bottle of capsules. But he said, “I’m happy now.”
“I don’t use it now because of the trouble it’s caused me,” he said. “I didn’t realise sports supplements could get you in that much trouble.”
Category: News
Subscribe
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to receive more just like it.
Connect
Connect with us via: