-- was yesterday found guilty of possessing heroin.

Last year Shawn Riley, 21, of Beacon Hill Road, Sandys, was arrested on suspicion of stealing a motorbike and was searched at Somerset Police Station where officers found a brown paper wrap behind his ear.

Riley denied a charge of possession of a controlled drug, but yesterday he was found guilty by Magistrate, the Hon. Edward King, who fined him $550.

During the trial, the Magistrate's Court was told that in August last year, Riley was spotted by Police acting suspiciously behind Sandys Secondary School.

P.c. Simon Payne saw Riley pushing a bike, but disappeared before the officer could reach him. P.c. Payne later found the bike and discovered it was reported stolen. Riley was acquitted of stealing a bike.

The officer returned to the scene, saw Riley and arrested him on suspicion of stealing the bike. He took Riley to Somerset Police Station and found a brown paper twist. Riley told the officer it was heroin.

However, Riley, a former Under-23 Bermuda soccer player and one of seven local football players who pleaded `no contest' to drugs charges in Miami last year, told the court the heroin belonged to his father, Richard Greene, who had left it at Riley's house.

He told the court he planned to confront his father about the twist and put it behind his ear, because his trousers had no pockets. Greene testified that the twist belonged to him.

Riley said he had assumed the twist contained either cocaine or heroin because he had not opened the package. It contained just 0.02 grams of the drug.