A former national cricket and football team member has escaped a conviction for cannabis possession after a magistrate handed him a conditional discharge.

Daz Simons, 21, was once a member of the under-20 soccer squad and the under-19 cricket team. He currently plays for Wolves and Cleveland County.

During a court hearing in December, Magistrates' Court heard he was caught with three grammes of the drug, worth $150, on Hermitage Road, Devonshire, where he lives. The offence, last July, was committed in an area deemed to be an "increased penalty zone" in law, as it is within 300 metres of Elliott Primary School.

The Police saw Simons involved in what Crown counsel Maria Sofianos described as a "hand-to-hand" transaction with another individual. The other person escaped, but the Police spoke with Simons, who they described as "nervous and fidgeting".

He removed an item from his jacket pocket and was searched under the Misuse of Drugs Act. The Police found a Ziploc bag of cannabis. A further search at Hamilton Police Station uncovered another bag of drugs in his sock and a third one in his underwear.

Simons told the Police the drugs were for his personal use. They also found $150 in his pocket, which he was unable to provide an explanation for, and they confiscated that too.

During the earlier appearance, duty defence lawyer Larry Mussenden told the court Simons has no previous convictions, and had been awarded his GED certificate on the morning of his court appearance. He added: "He plays a very popular sport. He realises that drugs don't mix with sport and he's stopped using them."

Simons asked Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo to consider a punishment that does not involve a conviction that would stop him entering the United States.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I never meant for anything to happen. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Yesterday, Mr. Tokunbo opted to hand Simons a 12-month conditional discharge after reviewing the recommendations in a pre-sentence report. That means Simons will not have a conviction recorded against him unless he breaches the terms of the order, which include random drug testing and staying out of further trouble.

"It's up to you to make sure that you get this behind you and take advantage of it," warned the Magistrate.