worth of cocaine with intent to supply had to be adjourned yesterday when one of the co-defendants broke down and wept on the witness stand.

William Roberts had to stand down while being cross examined by defence lawyer Richard Hector.

Earlier Roberts and his wife Barbara, 59, had pleaded guilty to possessing the drug but both denied counts of handling and possession with intent to supply.

Police found more than 30 pounds of cocaine, wrapped in 36 separate packages, in the freezer of the Roberts' home last September. A simultaneous search of their boat yard proved fruitless.

Although Mrs. Roberts declined to give evidence, her husband was called as the defence council's first witness.

Mr. Hector began by asking Roberts about his health.

"I have a heart problem and also have defective hearing,'' the 72-year-old calmly said.

But as he began to recount the events of the day Police officers from the narcotics squad entered his yard with a search warrant, Roberts became more emotional.

"I was taken to the Southampton police station and sat out in the public entrance for about 15 or 20 minutes,'' he said.

"Sgt. Rollin then took me to another room inside. He told me that they had searched my home with my wife and had found drugs in the freezer compartment.

"He told me I was going to be booked for possession and intent to supply. He asked me if I had any comments about the seizure and I said no.'' Roberts then told how he was taken to Police headquarters in Prospect where he was re-united with his wife who had also been arrested.

"My wife was crying -- she was completely devastated,'' Roberts said. "It made me feel very emotional.'' The jury of ten women and two men then heard how Roberts had failed to contact his lawyer, Mr. Michael Scott, when he was allowed to make a call from the station.

When asked by Mr. Hector how he felt after failing to contact Mr. Scott, Roberts broke down and began to weep. He was allowed to sit down and was given a glass of water.

Puisne Judge Norma Wade-Miller then adjourned the case for the rest of the day to allow Roberts to compose himself.

Earlier the detective who headed the Police investigation into the case was given an intense grilling by defence counsel Richard Hector.

Sgt. Stephen Rollin, a Detective Sergeant in the narcotics department when the drugs were discovered last September, was quizzed for more than an hour about the way his officers carried out the search warrant at the boat yard.

And Mr. Hector also asked if the officer had tried to stop Roberts from meeting with his lawyer at the police station.

"Did you tell other officers that if he (Mr.Scott) should arrive then they should send him on a wild goose chase?'' he said.

"That is totally untrue,'' Sgt. Rollin replied.

Mr. Hector also asked Sgt. Rollin if the Police had a vendetta against the defendant's son, Kirk.

"You have been trying to nail Kirk Roberts for several years,'' he said.

Sgt. Rollin replied: "I have known for several years of Kirk Roberts' involvement in drugs but I think an effort to nail him is not a good term.'' A third witness -- former narcotics officer Sgt. Sean Field Lament -- told the court that he believed the drugs were intended to be sold on the Island.

"There is a great demand for cocaine in Bermuda,'' he said.

"The way they were packaged and the fact they were found in the freezer indicates it was destined for sale in Bermuda.'' The case continues today.