ERROR RG P4 17.2.2000 A headline in yesterday's Royal Gazette mistakenly stated that Paula Madill, who denies conspiring to import cocaine, was described in Supreme Court as a "professional courier''. The reference was made in court last month to Wayne William Maximchuk, who was jailed for seven and a half years after he pleaded guilty to importing cocaine.

A Canadian woman went on trial at Supreme Court yesterday accused of conspiring to import $150,000 of cocaine into Bermuda.

A jury heard that Paula Madill was to receive at least $1,000 for travelling to the Island with fellow Canadian Wayne William Maximchuk.

Maximchuk, 44, was jailed for seven and a half years last month when he pleaded guilty to importing the drug in 78 plastic pellets which he had swallowed.

Madill, 34, of Calgary, Alberta, denies possession of cocaine with intent to supply and conspiring with Maximchuk, also of Calgary, to import the drug.

Crown counsel Larry Mussenden said narcotics officers arrested Madill and Maximchuk at the Mazarine by the Sea guest house in Pembroke on June 28 last year after they arrived that day from New York.

Maximchuk, who was described by the Crown last month as a "professional'' courier, was lying on a bed while Madill was sunbathing outside.

Both at first denied they had any drugs, then Maximchuk produced a pellet of cocaine from his duffle bag.

He then showed the officers a saucepan which was under a bed containing 27 pellets, and admitted he had another 50 capsules of cocaine in his stomach.

Detective Constable Kenville Savoury of the narcotics department said Madill, a waitress, had 200 Canadian dollars but denied any knowledge of the drugs.

Maximchuk said he got the cocaine in New York and had brought drugs into Bermuda before.

He said he stayed in Montego Bay, Jamaica, and was given money and airline tickets from a man there called Romeo. Police seized Air Jamaican tickets with Madill and Maximchuk's names on them at the guest house.

Det. Con. Savoury said when Police officers asked Maximchuk if Madill knew about the drugs, he replied: "Yes, but she didn't swallow any.'' When asked if she was getting paid, Maximchuk said: "I don't know, you'll have to ask her. She was not just coming along for the ride''.

Det. Con. Savoury said that when Madill was asked how much she was getting paid, she said: "Max told me when I came I would get paid $1,000 or so. I said I couldn't just take time off work, but Max said I would be OK.'' The officer said that later in the interview, Maximchuk said: "She was just here to make us look good getting off the plane. You can't expect her to come for nothing.'' When asked by defence lawyer Mark Pettingill why the interview had not been conducted at a Police Station, Det. Con. Savoury said the detectives were waiting for scenes of crime officers to arrive and decided to ask questions there.

He agreed that 90 percent of the questions were directed towards Maximchuk and that Madill was outside for part of the questioning.

Madill agreed the note of the interview was accurate, but said she was not asked whether she "adopted all the things Max said''.

Det. Sgt. Hayden Small of the narcotics division said he gave Madill a prisoner's rights form but did not allow her to telephone her brother because it "could lead to a hindrance of justice''.

He said he did not tell her how long the delay would be. He agreed he did not tell her she could call a lawyer or provide a telephone because "the person is informed that they can contact a lawyer at the Police Station.'' By 8 p.m. that night, four hours after the arrests, Madill was at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital and had not been taken to a Police Station.

The trial before Puisne Judge Charles-Etta Simmons continues today.