Defence lawyer Mark Pettingill told the Supreme Court yesterday that the Crown needs "a good dose of legal Viagra" in order to make their case against his client, part-owner of the Soul Jah One sound system Damon Kono Mikki Rabain.

Rabain, 28, is currently serving 18 months of a sentence he received last year for permitting the trafficking of cannabis, cocaine and heroin through his former-home on Club Road in Smith's.

The total value of the drugs seized from his home at that time was $59,000.

Rabain pleaded guilty to three charges of permitting drug trafficking on his premises, and was ordered to pay $20,000 for each of the counts in addition to the time he is spending in Westgate.

Rabain appeared on civil charges arising out of the matter. The Crown argued that a Police affidavit that $9,136.60 in cash found in Rabain's bedroom during the drug seizure was money that he had received as payment for his services from the owner of the drugs. If so, that money should therefore be forfeited to the Crown. Rabain, however, claimed that the cash was payment that he had received from an unadvertised Soul Jah One dance at the Clayhouse Inn on January 19. DJ's were usually paid in cash, he said, because people paid cash to get into Soul Jah One functions. The money was then split into three equal shares, one of which Rabain received.

The bulk of the cash found in his bedroom on January 20, he said, was the payment he had received for playing at Clayhouse Inn the night before.

During cross-examination, Crown counsel Juan Wolffe and Koshea Scott ascertained that Rabain, even though he is part-owner, did not possess much knowledge about the business side of Soul Jah One.

Rabain admitted that he did not know what bank his business used, or how payment and venues were negotiated between, for example, the owner of Clayhouse Inn and his manager. He also said he had no documents such a payslips or social insurance relating to the business.

"I suggest that the money was not the result of your payment from a dance, and that in fact the Soul Jah One sound system is defunct," said Mr. Wolffe.

"Absolutely not," replied Rabain.

However, Assistant Justice Archibald Warner reminded Mr. Wolffe: "He hasn't got to prove anything - you must prove on the balance of probabilities."

Mr. Wolffe told the court that the money found in Rabain's bedroom had been stored in three different places (a dresser, a closet, and a safe in the floor), and was tied in bundles of various denominations with large amounts of US dollars.

This method of sorting and storing the money, he said, indicated that the cash was the proceeds of drug distribution.

Mr. Warner intervened, however, saying that evidence was needed regarding the methods drug traffickers use to store money. "That type of evidence is not before the court," he said, adding that he could not infer that the method of storage indicated the money was related to drugs. He pleaded guilty (to allowing drug dealers to use his home to distribute drugs)," said Mr. Wolffe. "Drugs of substantial value were found on his premises. Money and drugs were found in his room. That gets us over the hump from which certain inferences can be drawn. The weak nature of his explanations strengthens the inferences."

Mr. Pettingill replied that proof was still lacking, however.

Pointing out that Rabain's story now was the same as it had been a year and a half ago when the drugs were seized, he wondered why the Crown had not brought forward evidence to undermine the story, instead relying on the opinion of the Police affidavit and the cross-examination. "His (Rabain's) evidence is valid and they know it," he said.

"How can you prove the money came from Soul Jah One? " asked Mr. Warner.

"How can they prove it came from drugs? " returned Mr. Pettingill. "Sounds like a Viagra ad," said Mr. Warner.

"I wouldn't know, I don't need it," was the prompt reply.

A decision is expected soon.