An appeal has begun into the conviction of a couple found to have cocaine valued at over $200,000 at their home in Somerset.

Jennifer Medeiros and OShane Eugene Darrell were sentenced to seven years and ten years respectively last summer after being convicted of possession of cocaine, with Darrell also found guilty of having cocaine with intent to supply and being in possession of drug equipment, namely a set of scales.

The common-law couple from Seawall Drive were found guilty by jury in July 2005 for the offences in November 2002.

An appeal against the convictions began yesterday before the Court of Appeal chaired by President Justice Edward Zacca.

Lawyer Frank Phipps, representing Darrell, presented a lengthy legal argument that his client?s trial had been adversely affected by a statement Darrell made at Hamilton Police Station in March 2003.

Darrell had stated during an interview that the cocaine found in the kitchen and bathroom of the couple?s home had been for his personal use and that he used the set of scales to ensure he did not overdose.

Mr. Phipps argued the interview confession, presented as evidence in the original trial, was questionable because the circumstances surrounding it were unclear and he wondered why the Police interviewer had asked questions about the case at that moment in time.

Hinting there may have been a form of ?trickery? to entice Darrell to confess in order that his partner might be absolved of involvement, he asked: ?Was it induced from some favourable statement beforehand??

Had Darrell truly ?volunteered? the statement ? as had been indicated ? and if so where was the proof, asked Mr. Phipps.

He said that the finding of the cocaine in the house, along with Darrell?s interview statement, was ?a one-way ticket to Westgate?.

Mr. Phipps asked the Appeal Judges to re-consider the directions given to the jury in last summer?s trial regarding the confession.

He also argued that, in a house shared by two people, it was not enough to imply that because drugs were found on the premises, his client had ?custody and control? of the drugs.

There was a physical element and a mental element to that charge, said Mr. Phipps.

While there was no question regarding the physical possession of the cocaine because it was found in the house, he said it must also be proved that Darrell had knowledge of the drugs.

In the Supreme Court trial last year, the jury heard that 679.93 grams of cocaine were discovered at the couple?s home during a Police search. Lawyer John Perry QC is due to make submissions on behalf of Medeiros today.