cost a Warwick man $1,850 in fines this week.

Terrence Parsons pleaded guilty to possession of .91 grams of 78 percent pure crack cocaine and possession of drug equipment, a razor blade.

And he fell foul of new laws clamping down on drugs offences near where children are likely to gather, with a $1,000 surcharge on top of the original fine.

Senior Magistrate Will Francis heard on Thursday that Police watched Parsons, 30, of South Road, as he and another man made a "hand to hand transaction'' at 2.10 a.m. on March 8.

Crown counsel Caitlin Garland said the men were on the corner of Court and Elliott Streets, near the Little Lamb Nursery.

After a search, Police found three brown paper twists containing the drug and Parsons said: "Look man, you got me. Just leave it at that.'' A razor blade was found in a coat pocket and was later found to have traces of cocaine.

Parsons' lawyer Richard Horseman asked Mr. Francis to take into account the guilty plea and the fact the cocaine weighed under a gram.

He added: "Mr. Parsons has attempted to address his problems. I ask you to deal with it as leniently as possible.'' Mr. Francis, however, said: "This is not cannabis or powder cocaine. And I have to take into account his previous convictions.'' He fined Parsons $700 for possessing the crack and added the mandatory $1,000 penalty for being in a drug exclusion zone and $150 for the razor blade.

Mr. Francis fined a painter $1,300 yesterday for having less than a gram of heroin near the Little Lamb Nursery.

Dennis Warner, 39, of Rec Hill View, Pembroke, admitted possessing .077 grams of 74 percent pure diamorphine on August 1.

Warner was fined $300 for heroin possession and $1,000 for possession within an IPZ.