A man accused of smuggling more than $130,000 of cannabis claimed he had no knowledge of the drugs until they were found by customs.

Vain Waldron, 47, has denied charges of importing cannabis to the Island on May 25 last year, and possessing the drug with intent to supply.

Magistrates’ Court heard on Tuesday from customs officer Lalisha Simmons, who testified that six packages were found rolled up in a tent during a search of Mr Waldron’s baggage.

The packages were later found to contain 2,646.8 grams of the controlled drug, which could fetch more than $130,000 if sold on the streets of Bermuda.

Ms Simmons also told the court that Mr Waldron said he had bought the tent for camping, and when questioned about the packages said they were his.

As the trial continued yesterday, Mr Waldron took the stand, telling the court that he flew to New York on May 21 for unspecified personal reasons. The next day, he said he contacted a childhood friend by the name of Edwin Jones, whom he had not seen in about 37 years.

He said that while Mr Jones did not immediately remember him, he began to as the conversation went on and they agreed to meet at Mr Waldron’s Brooklyn hotel the next day.

“He came to me the morning after; I guess around 9am or 9.30am,” Mr Waldron said. “At first we just looked at one another and we hugged and shed a tear and we started talking.”

Mr Waldron said he and Mr Jones met again the next two days. On the morning Mr Waldron was set to return to the Island, he said he had intended to take a taxi to the airport but Mr Jones arrived at the hotel and offered to drive him.

He told the court that once they were outside the airport, Mr Jones asked him if he would do him a favour and take a tent, which was in a maroon bag, with him to Bermuda.

“I asked him who the bag was going to,” Mr Waldron said. “He said it was going to one of our friends back in Bermuda. He said he was going to ship it but I’m here, so can I take it back? I said yeah.”

Mr Waldron said he was told the friend, Jean Smith, would collect the tent from him once he was back on the Island.

“I didn’t expect anything other than it was just a tent,” he said.

He said the first time he saw the packages of drugs was when the customs officers unrolled the tent in Bermuda, adding that he was so surprised he fell to his knees.

Asked about his interactions with customs officers, he acknowledged that he had said he packed his own bags, but that he was under the impression that the officers were asking only about his personal bag, not the tent.

He otherwise denied the officer’s testimony regarding his statements, telling the court that he did not say he had bought the tent from a store or that he had intended to use it for camping.

While he said Ms Simmons did ask him who the packages were for, he told the court he had not responded to the question. However, under cross examination, he accepted that in the hours after the drugs were discovered he said nothing about being given the tent by Mr Jones or that Mr Smith was to collect it.

Magistrate Archibald Warner said that given the facts of the case, it was not disputed that Mr Waldron brought the cannabis to the Island and had it in his possession, but under the law he could be convicted only if he knew, suspected or had reason to suspect that the bag contained drugs.

The magistrate adjourned the matter until this morning, when he is expected to deliver his judgment.