Drug-driver who ‘couldn’t maintain lane position’ banned from the roads for three years

A drug-driver who was “struggling to maintain his lane position” on Lynn’s Hardwick roundabout was pulled over by police.Dennis Ngirigacha, 33, of Bridge Road in Downham, appeared at Lynn Magistrates’ Court on Thursday where he admitted to driving above the specified drug limit.Prosecutor Paul Brown said that there were heavy traffic conditions when Ngirigacha was driving his BMW on the busy roundabout at 5pm on October 5 last year.

Police were following his vehicle, but officers reported that the car was struggling to maintain its lane position, so decided to pull Ngirigacha over.Officers said that they could smell cannabis coming from the car, to which Ngirigacha claimed that he previously had friends in the car who were smoking the Class B drug. However, when officers asked if he had recently smoked the drug, he admitted that he had.He was arrested and a drug test was carried out which came back with a reading of 4.8mcg of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol – a cannabis breakdown – in his system. The legal limit to drive is 2mcg.Ngirigacha had previously been caught drink-driving in 2019.In mitigation, Tiffany Meredith explained to magistrates that the mandatory driving disqualification that comes with committing a drug-driving offence will cause hardship to Ngirigacha. She also challenged the prosecution case and said that it would be difficult to keep changing lanes on the Hardwick roundabout at that time of day without causing damage to a vehicle.“He is very careful with his vehicle, he takes care of it, it’s a well-looked-after family car,” said Ms Meredith. The solicitor explained that Ngirigacha uses that car to take a family member, who has cerebral palsy, to several appointments.Ngirigacha was banned from driving for 36 months and fined £768 for the offence.He will also pay a victim surcharge of £307 and court costs of £105.