If someone asks me to hold onto something for them and it turns out to be illegal, can I be charged with a crime?

In Plain English: It depends. If you have something in your possession, or even on your property, and there's a reasonable suspicion it's stolen or unlawfully obtained, you could be in trouble with the law. However, you have a defense if you can prove you had no good reason to think the item was stolen or unlawfully obtained.

Detailed Explanation: Under Section 201 of the Criminal Code 2007 (NI), a person can be charged with unlawful possession of stolen property if they: * Have the property in their possession * Have the property in someone else's possession * Have the property on their premises * Give possession of the property to someone not lawfully entitled to it, AND * The property is reasonably suspected of being stolen or unlawfully obtained.

The penalty for this offence is a fine of 50 penalty units, imprisonment for 6 months, or both.

However, subsection (3) provides a defence if the defendant proves that they had no reasonable grounds for suspecting that the property was stolen or unlawfully obtained.