A 65-year-old farmer and carriage driver who claimed he was driven to import cannabis out of financial desperation sobbed in court as he was jailed for six years for smuggling the drug in his farming supplies.

Howard Charles, of Southcourt Avenue, Paget, had to be extradited to Bermuda from the Bahamas to be sentenced for the 2009 offence. He was deported home last year.

“Serious threats were made against Mr Charles — this was not a case where he decided to run away,” defence lawyer Victoria Pearman told the Supreme Court. “He was forced out of the country for threats against his life. I’m not seeking to diminish the criminality or his involvement but this was not someone who was simply absconding.”

Appearing before Puisne Judge Carlisle Greaves, Charles said he’d agreed to import the cannabis after falling on hard times.

According to Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Cindy Clarke, the cannabis could have fetched a maximum of $1.2 million on the streets of Bermuda.

The drug was concealed in a container of agricultural supplies shipped on May 28, 2009 from the port of Salem, New Jersey.

Ms Clarke said Charles had paid by credit card for a consignment released from the Hamilton docks on June 5, and loaded four packs of hay and two doors onto his truck at A and A Dairy Farm on Watlington Lane, Devonshire.

Police narcotics officers armed with a search warrant attended the farm and arrested Charles, finding 20 plastic-wrapped packages of a dried plant material in the door frame.

Asked if it was his, Charles replied: “Yes — and I have to get a lawyer.”

The second door was opened in Charles’s presence at Hamilton Police Station and 35 packages removed. In total, the packages held just under 24.5kg, or around 55 pounds, of cannabis.

Charles later told police: “It was just this one time — it’s screwed me right up. It wasn’t even for me, really — I was hoping to get a couple of dollars for it.”

Asked how much, he replied: “Fifty thousand — somewhere around there.”

Sold in half-gram twists at $25 each, the cannabis would have reaped $1.2 million. The drug is sold in Bermuda for about $7,000 a pound.

Considering Charles’s early guilty plea, along with the fact that none of his co-conspirators were brought to justice, Ms Clarke called for a sentence of five to seven years.

Ms Pearman described her client as a well-known farmer and breeder of horses whose animals appeared frequently in the Agricultural Exhibit.

“At the time of the offence, he was a horse and carriage builder and driver. He was very popular doing that and had others who drove for him. While it’s not an excuse, it appeared he found himself tempted due to the downturn in the tourism industry.”

Charles was “not a man with the benefit of any formal education”, she added.

“It’s quite sad that a man who’s worked so hard and done so much now finds himself before the courts.”

Ms Pearman said Charles had been a bit player with limited involvement in the conspiracy, who was approached because he imported large amounts of supplies for his animals.

“There’s no likelihood whatsoever of Mr Charles going down this road again. He’s effectively lost his livelihood, while managing to hold onto his family. This matter has been hanging over him for some considerable time.”

Charles fled the jurisdiction because he was “running for his life”, she said — with “other people making arrangements for him to stay away”.

“In his mind, his death sentence is still hanging over his head.”

His only previous offence on the books was a charge of allowing cattle to stray.

From the dock, Charles broke down in tears as he said: “At the time, this just weren’t right for me. Since I moved out of town, all my business went. I just went along with the idea. Now I feel very stupid.”

He had a farm with 12 horses and “times were hard” at the time he was approached.

“In 2009 things were very difficult, the cruise ship business had suffered and I made a foolish mistake,” he said. “I have cried and cried but I have accepted my wrong.”

Charles, who turned 65 last Thursday, told the court he was in jail when he met his first grandson.

“I’ve lost my business. I still have a responsibility to my family and my customers, and I want to make things right before it’s too late.”

Mr Justice Greaves accepted that Charles was a man who “prior to his misstep was making a worthwhile contribution to Bermuda society”.

However, he said: “That is a significant amount of drugs. The enterprise in which he participated — this coming to temptation is not a credible excuse. Further, for whatever reason, the defendant skipped the jurisdiction.”

Had Charles not fled to the Bahamas, Mr Justice Greaves said, his co-conspirators might have been brought to justice.

Charles was sentences to six years’ imprisonment for conspiracy to import, with his time spent in custody to be taken into account. A second charge, of possession with intent to supply, will remain on file.