A MOTORIST who had 21 bin liners of cannabis in his car has walked free from court.

A MOTORIST who had 21 bin liners of cannabis in his car has walked free from court.

South East Suffolk Magistrates heard that four bags contained rotting cannabis leaf and the remaining 17 held cannabis root bulbs which were described as worthless “rubbish”.

Police stopped a Vauxhall Vectra driven by Saad Abbas in The Street, Nacton on March 10 during a routine night time traffic check.

A strong smell of cannabis was detected and initially police thought they had unearthed a “serious case” of drug possession.

Andrea Reynolds, prosecuting, said the 30-year-old's passenger Mai Quynh Le, 28, gave officers false details.

Ms Reynolds said: “Police found 21 bags of cannabis waste and not herbal cannabis as first thought. The police drugs team were asked for their opinion on the value of what was found. The leaf matter was smelly and composting and would only have a street value if dried or if there was the production of resin.”

She said the root bulbs were worthless and it was likely the bags were going to be dumped.

Abbas of Roundwood Road, Ipswich pleaded guilty to possessing cannabis and to having no motor insurance, test certificate or licence.

Le of Braintree pleaded guilty to possession and to obstructing a police officer at an earlier hearing.

David Stewart mitigating, said: “She found these bags where she was living, she telephoned her boyfriend and they were taking them in his car to the Ipswich dump but it was closed.”

He added that Vietnamese Le was punished with one day's detention in custody due to her immigration status.

He added that Abbas was in an “unfair” position because he had an Ipswich address.

Mr Stewart said his client, who was unemployed due to back problems should receive the same sentence as he had spent two nights in custody following his arrest.

Magistrates gave Abbas a conditional discharge and told him if he stayed out of trouble for the next 12 months he would hear no more about the matter.

He was fined �120 for the motoring offences and told to pay �60 towards court costs.

Abbas declined to comment after the hearing.

Le's fingerprints revealed that she was a failed Vietnamese asylum seeker who exhausted every avenue of application in 2005.

Deportation papers have been served.