The Police investigation into a man accused of importing cocaine to Bermuda in auto parts has been questioned in court.

The trial of Jahmiko Hayward and Shannon Dwayne Julian Tucker heard a defence lawyer ask why when one of the suspects was quizzed by detectives, he was not given a form telling him he was entitled to contact a lawyer.

Attorney Allan Doughty, for Hayward, raised the issue when Det. Con. Trevor Knight, of the force narcotics department, was in the witness stand in Supreme Court. Det. Con. Knight told the court last week that a car bumper delivered from St. Martin to Bermuda was found to contain two hidden packages when scanned by an X-ray machine at Bermuda International Airport. Yesterday, Mr. Doughty asked him why the standard form was not given to Hayward after he was arrested in April 2004.

Det. Con. Knight agreed the purpose of the first interview was to find out the whereabouts of vehicle siderails, shipped to the Island along with the bumper. The detective denied the siderails had been lost, but admitted he did not know where Hayward had taken them after picking them up from courier service DHL in Bermuda. Det. Con. Knight said he was not aware of the siderails containing any drugs, but said all the items that came in on the St. Martin consignment were “crucial pieces of evidence”. He said information about legal advice was supposed to be issued at the first opportunity when a suspect was arrested.

Mr. Doughty said the information was not given to Hayward because Police were worried once he contacted a lawyer he might not say where the siderails were located. “I have no idea what a lawyer would have told him,” replied the detective, who said his main concern was finding the shipment as quickly as possible.

Det. Con. Knight told the court after the interview, which took place at about 3 p.m., Hayward was taken to an address in the Crawl area, off North Shore Road, before returning to Hamilton Police Station. Mr. Doughty said his client was issued with a legal rights form at 6 p.m.

During re-examination from Ms Tyndale, Det. Con. Knight said the jailer was responsible for issuing these forms. The detective said he had not been aware that such a form was not issued to Hayward when the first interview took place.

The jury heard at the start of the trial that the auto parts were bought in St. Martin and shipped to Bermuda. One was found to contain tubes with cocaine inside. Senior Crown Counsel Paula Tyndale said Hayward went to collect the two-part shipment when it arrived in Bermuda, claiming to be Tucker.

She also said that between March 2004 and April 2004 there was correspondence between the two defendants to get the shipment from the Caribbean.

During his evidence, Det. Con Knight told Ms Tyndale that during the interview Hayward told Police he collected the package from DHL, addressed to his uncle, Shannon Tucker, because he had asked him to pick up some car parts for him.

He later said he took the first package picked up at DHL to a house in the Crawl area of North Shore Road. Det. Con. Knight said the two large silver siderails were later located on a bedroom floor at this address, on top of a ripped cardboard box.

A search of Tucker’s house in Smith’s was carried out in January 2005, the jury also heard. Det. Con. Knight said that the only relevant item found was a map of St. Martin. Hayward, of Green Acres, Devonshire, and Tucker, of Broken Hill Lane, Smith’s — who is representing himself in the trial — deny conspiring to import cocaine. The trial has also heard from Det. Con. Devon Richardson, about an operation mounted at the DHL office in Hamilton on April 5, 2004.

She said she had seen Hayward pick up a package from the company as she watched through a window of the office of the Operations Manager at DHL.

She then described seeing Hayward in a taxi after he left DHL along with another man — who is not before the courts.

“I followed on foot — running. As I got on to Cedar Avenue I could see the other officers (involved in the operation) had caused the taxi to stop at the junction of Cedar Avenue and Victoria Street.” she said.