The 45-year-old real estate manager who had admitted he was addicted to marijuana recently in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate's Court reappeared yesterday.

Sybrand Mitchell returned to court to answer to the charge of dealing in ganja, for which he had initially pleaded not guilty.

Mitchell told Resident Magistrate Judith Pusey that he was reluctant to plead guilty to the charge because he was not dealing in ganja when he was arrested. However, RM Pusey explained to Mitchell that the law states that if a person is found in possession of more than eight ounces of ganja, that person is deemed to be a dealer unless the person can provide a valid explanation for having more than that amount.

However, Mitchell told RM Pusey that he was set up and was being 'scapegoated' by his friend who is the one who is truly responsible. Mitchell told the court that his friend had left the ganja at his house with his girlfriend.

After leaving the ganja, he then made a report to the police that the ganja was there on Mitchell's premises.

When asked by RM Pusey about any attempt to get rid of the ganja, Mitchell replied that he had forgotten that it was there. Mitchell eventually pleaded guilty and was fined $3,200 or 30 days in prison.

Mitchell initially appeared in court on June 29, when he informed the court that he was addicted to marijuana and had been smoking ganja since age 12.